The first Open Day was held on Tuesday 26 March at the Walter Danesi’s Fantiscrive Museum Quarry dedicated to sector operators, such as tourist-environmental guides, teachers and accommodation facilities. The event was organized by Feisct, European Federation of Historical Cultural Tourist Itineraries in collaboration with Bookcrossing Massa and the same Cava Museo di Fantiscrive. Feisct European Federation of Historical, Cultural and Tourist Itineraries acts on the territory for the development of a widespread historical-tourist network and implementation memory, in search of local realities linked to a slow tourism that allows for a broader and more human-friendly vision compared to mass tourism, according to the directives of European Union. Francesca Bianchia writer from Massa, has been appointed Ambassador since 2023 for her ongoing research and discovery activity through children and beyond and is an important point of reference for the province of Massa Carrara and beyond, as recalled by the president of Feisct Sabrina Busato , which opened the afternoon at Cava Museo Fantiscrive, assisted by Francesca Bianchi. A testimonial contribution of the territory and historical memory was given by the president of Confimpresa as well as vice president of the municipal council of Massa Daniele Tarantino and by the journalist Angela Maria Fruzzetti. They underlined the very important value of the passage between generations of our experience and that of our loved ones, especially in situations such as those of the quarries well known to all and which for many decades have seen this work as the main livelihood and at the same time condemnation of many families locals. The story of the owner of Cava Museo is moving, Walter Danesi relating to the story of grandfather Gualtiero who opened the museum way back in 1987, going against the conservators who failed to see its potential. To date, however, thanks to his nephew, that potential has been fully expressed in recognizing the work of that silent part of workers, men and women of the mountains, who with their sweat, often the loss of their lives, have also allowed the birth of works as imposing as Michelangelo’s David. The Fantiscriv meeting aimed to tell the world of the quarries: from extraction to transport, to the living conditions of the quarrymen, especially in the sixties and Cava Museo Fantiscrive turned out to be an unconventional museum in which it is possible to retrace all the stages of the I work in the quarries. The society Carrara Marble Tour supported the initiative, collaborating with the museum for tourist tours, with guides also in English and French, in 4X4 jeeps which allow you to go up to altitude and see the processing methods in the basins, combining the visits with the tasting of typical products in the “Summer sunset aperitifs”. The tours also include the possibility of visiting the family laboratory, where you can observe the production chain of the most characteristic artefacts, such as lizze and mortars and be given a small personalized marble souvenir and are also open to school groups. The afternoon ended with the tasting of Colonnata lard on bruschetta, a typical quarrymen’s food, offered by Walter Danesi and mineral water offered by the Angeloni Pietro & C.SNC company.
Feisct has addressed an invitation to all the activities in the area, they are invited to contact the Federation in order to find communication channels for the renewal of their activities, to give, through the Open Days, new perspectives also to sector operators who can propose new itineraries to the public increasingly eager to find alternatives to big cities, to realities that are too cosmopolitan and unlivable.
photo by Sara Chiara Strenta
