No Cav is an Italian protest movement that arose in the early 21st century, criticising the Carrara marble quarries in the Apuan Alps.
Name and flag
The phrase No Cav, short for "No Cave" (No Quarries, in Italian), was used for the first time in an article from Il Tirreno in 2014 to define the activists who had taken part in a demonstration organized by Salviamo le Apuane (Save Apuan Alps).
The No Cav flag is a stylized black and white representation of the Vara viaduct of the Carrara Private Marble Railway crossed by a large red X, above which are the words "NO CAV", also in red, on a white background.
This symbol, whose graphic design recalls that of the Italian No TAV movement, first appeared in 2020, during an event organized by the environmentalist Gianluca Briccolani, who the following year, with Claudio Grandi and others, founded the Apuane Libere (Free Apuan Alps) association.
The flag and the word "No Cav" itself are neither used nor accepted by all groups of this movement and some of them prefer to use more specific definitions.
Characteristics
The No Cav movement is classified by the Italian Atlas of Environmental Conflicts, part of the Environmental Justice Atlas, as a "proactive conflict in favor of sustainable alternatives".
Over the years, environmentalists have managed to develop in civil society a widespread movement of opinion sensitive to the theme of safeguarding the Apuan Alps.
The methods of opposition used by No Cav activists include demonstrations, marches, flash mobs, appeals, petitions, demonstrative actions (such as the one at the Giro d'Italia 2021 or on the summit of Mont Blanc), roadblocks, lawsuits, political initiatives (at local, regional, national, European and international level), public information, pressure on companies, preparation of independent documents, and media activism.
Among the campaign slogans that have arisen from demonstrations, besides No Cav, there is "Basta Cave" (lit. Enough Quarries: Stop the Quarries), "Giù le mani dalla montagna" (Hands off the Mountain), "Fermiamo la devastazione" (Let's stop the Devastation), "Help Apuan Alps", "Le cave uccidono il passato e il futuro" (The quarries are killing the past and the future), "Excavation devastation", and more.
In addition, the No Cav movement has at times supported other environmentalist initiatives and actions in defence of landforms not directly connected to the issue of the Apuan Alps.
Affiliated entities
Campaigns in opposition to quarrying activity in the Apuan Alps have been ongoing for years, pursued by many and varied groups:
Environmentalist associations, for instance Legambiente, Gruppo d'Intervento Giuridico (these last engaging in legal interventions), WWF, Extinction Rebellion, Sea Shepherd, Friends of the Earth, Apuane Libere, and yet more. Caving and mountain climbing groups including Club Alpino Italiano (Italian Alpine Club), Mountain Wilderness, and Federazione Italiana Escursionismo (Italian Trekking Federation) Associations for land care, such as Italia Nostra (Our Italy) and Fondo Ambiente Italiano (Italian Enveronmental Foundation) Committees and movements like Salviamo le Apuane (Save the Apuan Alps), Rete dei Comitati per la Difesa del Territorio (Network of Committees in Defence of the Landscape), Assemblea Permanente Carrara (Carrara Permanent Assembly), and Fridays for Future Collectives and social hubs such as Athamanta (named in honour of the Athamanta Cortiana, a plant endemic to the Apuan range and at risk of extinction) and others Faith-inspired groups such as Accademia Apuana della Pace (Apuan Peace Academy) Socio-cultural associations such as ARCI (Italian Cultural and Recreational Association) Associations not directly connected to environmental or landscape issues, for example Slow Food and GIROS (Italian Group for Research on Wild Orchids). Private citizens not members of a particular group, but who support the cause by taking part in No Cav initiatives.
Various Italian intellectuals and personalities have stood up in defence of the Apuan Alps. Among them are: Andrea Camilleri, Moni Ovadia, Salvatore Settis, Adriano Prosperi, Paolo Maddalena, Tomaso Montanari, Roberta De Monticelli, Maurizio Maggiani, Mario Perrotta, Alberto Asor Rosa, Paolo Cognetti (who has declared himself to be "truly dismayed, beyond being angry, at the condition of the Apuans"), Enzo Fileno Carabba, Angelo Baracca, Vittorio Emiliani, Edoardo Salzano, Pancho Pardiv, Alessandro Gogna, Claudio Lombardi, Alberto Magnaghi, Andrea Lanfriv (a main speaker at the large No Cav protest of 2021), and Rossano Ercolini. The cartoonist Sergio Staino made a cartoon on the subject.