Statues that must stand not fall: The material agency of anarchism in the marble monuments of Carrara, Italy

Drawing upon international literature about breaking coloniality by removing its monuments that was inspired by movements such as ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’, I address what can be defined a counter-case. While confirming the reasons for contesting the symbols of oppressive powers, this case exposes an alternative tradition of monuments that were not erected by states, churches or colonial companies but by combative workers. I refer to the some of the dozens of anarchist statues and marble plaques that are disseminated in Carrara (Italy) and in the surrounding villages to keep memory of facts and figures of local workers movements and antifascist resistance. The Italian capital of marble, Carrara is also a historical stronghold of class-struggle anarchism and anarcho-syndicalist unions of marble workers. These monuments often correspond to places of popular sociability in specific squares, neighbourhoods or villages, and are still places of memorial contentions. Based on the analysis of documents from Italian anarchist archives and on numerous field visits, this paper also extends literature on the material turn in cultural and historical geography, analysing the symbolic and material relevance of Carrara marble matter for local workers. I finally call for a militant historical geography of monuments, one that can be relevant to political and societal debates by boldly and outspokenly saying which statues must fall and which must stand.