Tuscany. Colonnata

Once you've been there, you'll dream about that lardo melting on your tongue as you watch how the marble is cut from the steep mountains of Colonnata. This place, a 1.5 h drive from OT homes, is a must in every way – to taste and to see. The drive through dark tunnels, where, for a while, there's no light at the end of the tunnel, gives the same goosebumps as the local panini filled with slices of 6-months aged lardo. It is a win-win drive, if you are into art as well as food. Some would rather buying cuts of marble rather than a slice of lardo, but for someone it will be vice versa. For me – the feeling to be there, among the marble that has created the world’s most famous art works and have that slice of fantastic speck, that is all that matters. 

The city, just 532 m up the hills on beautiful roads, is part of Cararra province situated in the Apuan Alps. The views, wherever you go, are stunning and the Colonnata itself – with that small marble church, marble streets and benches is an oasis of natural admiration and beauty. Thank god the people are real.

Story and pictures: Signe Meirane
Camera: Sony Alpha 7s