After meeting your professional tour guide on at the cruise ship pier, you'll be driven in a 4x4 to the famed Carrara Marble quarries. Carrara, located in the Tuscan region, harbors one of the most prominent marble quarries in Europe. Carrara marble is used throughout the world for a variety of purposes, and it has been dubbed "white gold" in several publications.

From the first quarries, you'll make your way to the Apuan Alps, a mountain range in the north of Tuscany. There, you'll visit one of the region's ancient quarries, as harsh conditions and erosion turned the surrounding mountains into the very Carrara marble for which the city is known.

Then, enjoy a traditional lardo tasting in a local snack bar located next to the marvelous Vara Bridges, which are part of the old marble railways. Lardo is a rich dish of cured pig's back fat, succulent meat made with an ancient technique to preserve the meat and the fat of the animal. Served in thin slices, the dish melts on your tongue or a piece of hot, grilled bread.

From the village, you'll conclude your tour with a visit into two quarries, one of which is carved into the side of a mountain at the basin of Fantiscritti, the marble railway, and Vara bridges. The second quarry is known as the beautiful "Open Sky Quarry," where you will enjoy a breath-taking view over the Apuan-Versilian coastline, the Ligurian sea, Portovenere, the Cinque Terre villages and the Gulf of La Spezia. After taking in the views and enjoying your 4x4 touring, you'll return to the pier.