# 85 NOVEMBER 21 st , 2016
the present day , where the beautiful statuary , the celebrated White “ P ” ( veinless white marble ), is the substance for the sculptures and works of the major artists today . The workshops , which are open throughout the area , are frequently visited by students and teachers of sculpture alike coming from all over the world , which serves as confirmation of a modern and very vibrant prestige .
At the behest of Pope Leo X , the great renaissance sculptor Michelangelo spent three years in the Apuan Alps , building a road that extended as far as the sea and working to open the quarries of Trambiserra and La Cappella .
The Renaissance was to fulfil the miracle that the Medici Pope had always dreamed of for the Apuan land , with the opening and cultivation of quarries of white marble , veined marble , bardiglio and polychrome breccia rock , and the extension of Michelangelo ' s road to the heart of the mountain , from which Giambologna extracted the first block of
statuary marble .
Foreign businessmen who have dealings here and who attend studies , workshops and businesses dealing in the stone area cannot but marvel at the great and formidable landscape of the quarries , recognising the eminence of a region that is not just the fruit of historical memory .
The production phases The initial stage of the activities is carried out early on and involes extracting local marble with the use of advanced technology . Later on the other production activities take place .
The block is cut in many ways : mainly in slabs or blocks that are then shaped , polished and finished in different shapes and sizes . The recent introduction of new computerised machines have led to new forms and faster production with a much greater degree of accuracy .
The laser cutting waterjet machines allow you obtain precise inlays and complex shapes with relative ease . The same applies for the artificial ageing techniques of the products , that replicate the effects of time and can produce an antique artefact that is highly valued .
The role of automation and electronics has constitued the most profound change in the stone processing cycle , giving machines certain challenging
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