Carrara Marble
Carrara marble is a white to blue-grey marble named for the quarrying district above Carrara, in Tuscany, Italy. It began as limestone and was recrystallized during later mountain-building. In tile shops, "Carrara" usually means the standard Bianco Carrara look. Calacatta and Statuario come from the same district but are sold as separate varieties.
- Also called
- Bianco Carrara; Luna marble (Roman name)
- Family
- Marble
- Color
- White to blue-grey
- Geological type
- Metamorphic marble: limestone recrystallized by heat and pressureSource: Coli & Criscuolo (2021), The Carrara Marble: geology, geomechanics and quarrying
- Named for
- The Carrara quarrying district, Apuan Alps, Tuscany, ItalySource: Carrara marble, Wikipedia
- Acid sensitivity
- Calcareous: acids such as lemon or vinegar can dull or etch the surfaceSource: Natural Stone Institute, Care & Cleaning of Natural Stone
- Finishes at SoCal Tiles
- Polished, Tumbled
SoCal Tiles carries
SoCal Tiles sells Bianco Carrara in Polished and Tumbled finishes, as field tile, mosaics and trim. Field tile examples, each with a sample option:
Appearance and variation
Carrara reads as a soft white to blue-grey stone with grey veining.
The balance of white to grey, and how bold or fine the veining looks, varies from block to block and between production lots. That is normal for natural stone. Order a sample from the product page before deciding, and keep a large installation to one lot where possible.
About Carrara Marble
What "Carrara" means. The word is used in two ways.
- The place. The Carrara district produces several commercial varieties. The most common are Bianco Carrara, Bianco Venatino and Statuarietto. The pure-white Statuario, the darker Bardiglio, and the pricier "exotic" varieties such as Calacatta Gold, Calacatta Borghini and Arabescato also come from there.
- The trade name. In tile shops, "Carrara" usually means the standard white to blue-grey Bianco Carrara look. Calacatta and Statuario are sold under their own names. See Calacatta vs Carrara.
Where the stone comes from. The district is in the mountains around Carrara, in the province of Massa and Carrara, at the northern tip of Tuscany. The Apuan Alps above the town show at least 650 quarry sites. The marble's parent rock was an Early Jurassic limestone, transformed during later mountain-building.
Good to know
Carrara has been used for sculpture and building from Roman times, when it was called Luna marble, through the Renaissance, including Michelangelo's David (1501–1504).
Caring for natural stone: read our stone care guide.
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Common questions
Is Calacatta a type of Carrara marble?
Calacatta comes from the same Carrara marble district, but it is sold as its own variety, separate from standard Bianco Carrara. See Calacatta vs Carrara for how they differ.
Does sealing stop marble from etching?
No. Sealing makes stone more stain resistant, not stain-proof. Etching is the dulling that happens when acids such as lemon or vinegar react with the stone's calcium carbonate, which is why pH-neutral cleaners are recommended. See the stone care guide.
Sources
- Carrara marble, Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Coli & Criscuolo (2021), The Carrara Marble: geology, geomechanics and quarrying, IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 833 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- Natural Stone Institute, Care & Cleaning of Natural Stone (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- SoCal Tiles product catalog: Bianco Carrara White Marble (retrieved 2026-09-21)