© Edimedia di F. Filippi e C. Sas.

Strategically situated in the valley of the Frigido torrent, at the foot of the Apuan Alps and just four kilometres from the sea, Massa's history has always been linked to the working of marble, as has that of nearby Carrara.
The city's mediaeval origin is clearly visible in the Massa Vecchia and especially in the Malaspina Castle towering above, one of the most spectacular and atmospheric castles in central Italy. The most significant examples of the subsequent town-planning drive engineered by the Malaspina in the 16th century can be found in the Piazza degli Aranci and in the adjacent Palazzo Cybo Malaspina. The Cathedral dates back to the 19th century, the period that witnessed the further expansion and modernisation of the city, especially under Elisa Baciocchi, the sister of Napoleon. Since its origins the city has gradually developed in the direction of the nearby coast and the considerable manufacturing drive of the post-war period allowed it to acquire its present-day essentially modern aspect.

Known since Roman times for the precious white marble of its quarries, which has made it famous as the "international marble capital", Carrara is probably the oldest industrial site still in use in the world.
Situated in a basin on the slopes of a spectacular limestone massif of the Apuan Alps, Carrara has always been linked with activities connected with the quarrying and working of marble and its very name derives from the ancient Ligurian kar, meaning stone. Of Roman origin, the city's urban development started to develop in the 11th century, thanks to the strategic vicinity of the Via Francigena, and later was affected by the same historical events as nearby Massa. The important stages in its history can be identified in the 16th-century drive of the Malaspina domination, in the 19th-century developments linked to the mining industry and in the post-war revival; this last phase gave the present-day modern aspect to the city, whose urban layout now extends uninterruptedly as far as Marina di Carrara.