In 2008, our Michelangelo Road Tour took us to Carrara, Italy, where Michelangelo obtained the purest white marble for his sculpted Renaissance masterpieces. We were astonished to see that all the street curbs in that Tuscan mountain town were made of marble. And every doorstep was made of marble too, no matter how humble or impoverished the abode. But then again, why shouldn't the world's finest marble be used for such prosaic purposes? In Carrara, marble is as common as dirt.
Doorstep or David,
it's all the same
to marble mountains
[Haibun © Debra She Who Seeks, 2026;
Photo © Debra She Who Seeks, 2008;
Animated AI GIF courtesy of the internet]
🤯😱 Wowser! Nothin' creepier than a 17-foot tall, 6 ton naked guy following my every move; stalking me with his eyes!! 👀😬😘
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the David, I just burst into tears. I suppose mountains don't care about that either.
ReplyDeleteOMG. I just KNEW that GIF was from the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA. Ya fooled me. Ya fooled me good! 😁
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect way to close out National Poetry Month, Debra. There’s something so poetic about using the world’s finest marble for something as 'prosaic' as a doorstep.
ReplyDeleteLookout,
ReplyDeletehe's got a sling-shot
and he's gonna use it!
It is good that people get to use the local product, Debra.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. And the animation is kinda creepy!
ReplyDeleteMarble doorsteps! What a memorable trip you've had!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the animation is a bit creepy!
ReplyDeleteHello Debra, At first I thought that was some mountain in Canada covered with snow. Local use of stone is not surprising. The famous Berea Sandstone from the Cleveland area was exported all over (including for use in the Canada Parliament building in Ottawa), as well as considered the best material for millstones and grindstones, but locally it was used for breakwalls in Lake Erie.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Very memorable trip. That animation is truly amazing.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh
ReplyDeleteCarrara is definitely in my bucket list!
And I’ll add to that going to take a look at Michelangelo’s David.
XOXO
The animation is fun.
ReplyDeleteI had to figure out what a haibun was, but based on the definition I think you nailed it.
ReplyDeleteI love that the town is built on their local resource! Why not marble doorsteps and curbs? It's cheaper than importing someone else's stone, I guess.
ReplyDeleteThe animated David is unsettling...
So he does look a bit creepy, but at the same time...that marble! Wow! It is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhen the whole place is made of marble, you'll use it everywhere. Likewise granite and other "exotic" materials! I was amazed when I first found out that the mountain is literally marble, not just little veins here and there. But M picked very carefully to avoid surprises once the work was under way.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and her sister owned a marble exporting company there and I spent a couple of summers and even went up the mountains with them when they selected marble to cut. Those months changed my life.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a dirty joke from Rock et Belles Oreilles (RBO), which I will not type here.
ReplyDeleteOne man's marble is another man's curb.
ReplyDeleteThe animation is amazing, Debra!
ReplyDeleteExcept I can't charge admission to a doorstep.
ReplyDeleteDo you write Poetry?
ReplyDelete@ peppylady (Dora) -- Yes, I do dabble a bit from time to time.
DeleteSomebody's mom needs to tell him to be careful because if he crosses his eyes they might stay that way.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Oui, les collines de Carrere sont si blanches qu’elles semblent couvertes de niege.
ReplyDeleteJe me suis rendu à Florence, et la ville, tout comme ses sites, est incontounable lors du Grand Tour.
Il est incroyable de voir ce que l’on peut accomplir grâce à l’infographie. Comme on le voit ici avec la statue de David de Michel-Ange, tout comme ces images vidéo de Nijinsky dansant, recréées à partir d’une seule photo.
Monsieur Dupuis 🇨🇦
So many wonders in this world!
ReplyDeleteI never knew that statue was marble and never knew marble could be completely white. The only marble I see here is slashed through with streaks of black, grey or brown and to me, that's ugly and if I had to choose between marble or granite, I'd choose granite.
ReplyDeleteVery cool!
ReplyDeleteDang. That is amazing. And what a great idea for a trip. I would love to do that too,
ReplyDeleteDavid is hilarious!
ReplyDelete