In addition to the marble quarries, the city has accademies of sculpture and fine arts and a museum of statuaries and antiquities. The local marble is exported around the world, and marble from elsewhere is also fashioned and sculpted commercially here.

Carrara marble has been famous since the time of Ancient Rome; the Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome are constructed of it. Many famous sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo's David, were carved from Carrara marble. Marble Arch in London is also made from this well regarded stone.