In this video from NOWNESS, an excerpt from Yuri Ancarani’s documentary Il Capo (The Chief), the filmmaker describes the mesmerising business of marble extraction in the hills of Northwest Italy.
The prized delicacy of the Carrara stone’s surface is juxtaposed against the dramatic size and weight of the blocks they are removing, which eventually fall with an earth-shattering thud. Similarly, the rugged power of the excavators is in marked contrast to the precise, understated gestures of the chief himself, who directs his workers with a complex series of predetermined hand signals.
“Marble quarries are places so unbelievable and striking, they almost feel like they are big theatres or sets,” says Yuri Ancarani. “I was so taken by the chief, watching him work at moving gigantic marble blocks using enormous excavators. His movements are light, precise and determined.”
