Lardo is pig fat that is cured by covering blocks of it with salt and herbs and placing them in marble vats for months. To eat, it is sliced very thinly and put on warm bread (or whatever).
It is quite delicious, and has been made in Colonnata for centuries. When we looked on the map, we soon discovered how the marble vat part of the equation came to be. Colonnata is located in the mountains near Carrara, where the famous Italian marble comes from.
The mountains look like they are covered with snow from a distance,
but it's really the marble mining operations.
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You know lardo is gaining in popularity because a few years back business was so good that the town decided to repave the central square, which is also the only parking in town, with marble.
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We opted for this shop to procure lardo for the road:
But there must be 7 or 8 shops that specialize in lardo in this very, very tiny town.
I believe this translates loosely as:
Where are you from? Parma.
And I'm from Siena.
Let's go to Alge's place where they make lardo.
Lunch included lardo, of course, and also this pasta topped with shaved black truffles:
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After lunch we drove up to a nearby marble quarry and took a tour.
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Everyone but Ardbeg had to wear a hard hat.
Inside the quarry there was an exhibition of sculpture by a Japanese artist.
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There were also cave drawings.
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And this model of a city made of marble that the artist installed full-size in Japan. Ardbeg gamely posed in the arena for perspective.
After the tour we wandered through the gift shop. In this case, the shop included a yard area filled with giant marble sculptures.
And, of course, art was mocked.
* indicates photo credit Tristan
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