Italian Quarry in the Ruskeala Mountain Park

The Italian Quarry is part of the Ruskeala Mountain Park. It is located 400 meters from the north shore of the Grand Marble Canyon. It can be reached by following the road along the Secret Paths of Kalevala Park and the Underground Lake. 

The Italian quarry received this name, since in the first centuries after the foundation of St. Petersburg, almost all construction work was led by Italians. There is marble with green and blue shades, as well as marble with white stripes. 

Unlike the Great Marble Canyon, which is a flooded lake, in the Italian Quarry, you can see how in the 18th and 19th centuries, giant blocks of marble were drilled by hand. The height of the blocks reaches 3 meters. 

Workers manually drilled holes vertically and horizontally. Then gunpowder was laid there and an explosion was made. So blocks weighing 10-16 tons were chipped from the rock. After that, they waited for the winter to take them to Sortavala on special sleds with metal runners. In the spring, special vessels sailed to Sortavala, which delivered marble blocks to St. Petersburg along Lake Ladoga. Small blocks of marble were delivered on reinforced vehicle to St. Petersburg all year round. 

Every August, the Ruskeala Mountain Park hosts the Ruskeala Symphony Music Festival. The main venue of the festival is located in the Italian Quarry, as there is a comfortable space among the marble walls. However, chamber performances of various orchestras are held both in the Great Marble Canyon and in the Underground Ruskeala, where there are halls with excellent acoustics.