Monte Altissimo - Alpi Apuane

It is a mountain formed entirely of marble which, from the sea, appears so impressive that it deserves a name that does not belong to it, reaching its summit only 1589 meters. It is entirely included in the municipality of Seravezza (Lucca), to the south, on the sea side, it overlooks the Valle del Serra while to the north it overlooks the Gobbie canal. The south side is horrid and falls vertically for over 700 meters, presenting, from a distance, the appearance of an overhanging wall. In reality, it is possible to distinguish a real south wall that leads to the summit, while close to the south-east ridge which then extends south towards Falcovaia, it is possible to distinguish a large amphitheater that refers to the two minor peaks: 1460 altitude and 1471 in which the famous Tacca Bianca quarries stand out (collective name used for the southern quarries, including the quarry of the same name). The northern and eastern slopes, delimited by the west and south-east ridges, are instead wooded and slope less steeply downstream where the road that leads from Massa to Arni and Garfagnana passes. It was explored by Michelangelo who understood the potential associated with the extraction of statuary marble and the quarries, most of which are now abandoned, deeply mark the slopes and constitute a sort of Marble Archeology Park. Michelangelo Buonarroti, between 1518 and 1520, explored the Seravezza area and the southern slopes of Monte Altissimo in search of marble deposits destined for the facade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence on commission of Pope Leo X, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent of the Medici family. The quarry of the Chapel was activated, located under the parish church of San Martino, which produced marble which, however, was not used for the Florentine church due to an afterthought by the pope. The great sculptor probably sensed the potential of the area, but the real excavation [2] began only at the end of the sixteenth century and reached important levels of production only with Henraux starting from 1800. So it is absolutely false that Michelangelo dug from the quarries of the mountain for his large sculptures. Drone: Mavic Mini 2 The Final Game - The Queen's Gambit - Carlos Rafael Rivera