Carrara marble is one of the most prestigious marbles ... Last year, 1.2 million tons of blocks crossed the Italian border to China, the United States, and Germany as the top 3.

And calacatta is one of the world's most expensive types of marble. It's more than double the price of carrara marble, yet mined in the same mountains. But the key to calacatta's price is its rarity.

Several centuries after the Italian Renaissance, marble remains a staple material for artists. In the image aboove, students at Carrara's Academy of Fine Arts first hone their sculpting skills on ...