from the 16th century, Genoese stonecutters-merchants also entered this flourishing trade.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the marble quarries were monitored by the Cybo and Malaspina families who ruled over the Duchy of Massa and Carrara. The family created the "Office of Marble" in 1564 to regulate the marble mining industry. The city of Massa, in particular, saw much of its plan redesigned (new roads, plazas, intersections, pavings) in order