The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission passed over the city of Carrara, Italy, on March 27 with breathtaking views. The image captured shows Carrara just above the centre, stretching along the mountains, covered in bright, white marble, contrasting with Tuscany’s lush green vegetation.
The Italian city lies along the Carrione River in northern Tuscany, around 130 km from Florence. Carrara, its world-famous white or blue-grey marble, is taken from nearby quarries in the Apuan Alps, a mountain range that stretches for approximately 55 km and reaches around 2000 m high.
Carrara marble is one of the most prestigious marbles globally, with its quarries producing more marble than any other place on Earth. The unique stone was formed by calcite-rich shells left behind by marine organisms when they die. When water bodies evaporate, the deposited remains form limestone, and when buried under multi-tonne layers of rock, the intense heat and pressure cause the limestone to metamorphose into marble.
The special quality of the Carrara marble has made it a popular resource for many famous sculptures, including Michelangelo’s Pietà, and some of the most remarkable buildings in Ancient Rome, including the Pantheon and Trajan’s Column.
Also featured in this summery image from Sentinel-2 are the towns of Forte dei Marmi, Pietrasanta, Lido di Camaiore and Viareggio. Marina di Carrara, southwest of the city, is a beach resort on the Ligurian Sea with port facilities for transporting and shipping marble. The most popular resorts and beaches nearby are the Marina di Carrara and Marina di Massa, which become very crowded during the summer, especially with Italian holidaymakers. La Spezia, a major naval base and the second-largest city in the Liguria region, is visible in the top-left of the image.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 is based on a constellation of two identical satellites in the same orbit, 180° apart for optimal coverage and data delivery. Together they cover all of Earth’s land surfaces, large islands, inland and coastal waters every five days at the equator.
