What do lardo and James Bond have in common? Well, they're both to be found amongst the marble quarries above Carrara these days. Yes, filming of the oddly named movie Quantum of Solace is now going on amongst the cubes and tunnels of Michelangelo's favorite source of marble. According to CommanderBond.com:
"Indicating that the film’s chase has now moved from Lago di Garda to the quarries at Carrara, the report states that Bond makes his way through the Canalgrande and Fantiscritti quarries, while still being pursued by the police. After eventually shaking off the police, Bond is expected to emerge out of the Miseglia (a frazione, or subdivision in Carrara) tunnel and eventually arrives in Siena."
Yes, Quantum of Solace, to be released in November, will have bits of the Palio di Siena in it, in addition to scenes at Lake Garda and Carrara's marble quaries.
So we went to check out the scene. The signs were in place to restrict traffic to authorized film people, but they were moved off to the side, so we went up to the Fantiscritti quarry and prepared an illustrated guide: How to Tour the Marble Quarries of Carrara just in case Bond has trouble finding the place. You never know.