What makes italian marble good?

The most famous of the marbles is from the Carrara region of Italy. Used by Michelangelo, Donatello and Canova in their sculptures, Carrara marble was always chosen for its purity and durability. Calacatta and Statuario, in all their different forms (and there are many of them), are more of the Italian marbles from this region, similarly admired for their white colour. (By the way, "Carrera" is a Porsche and "Carrara" is the Italian marble.)

In our experience, Italy has many of the best marbles in the world, having stood the test of time in some of the most famous places in the world. For example, in the displays at the Vatican Museum, the Italian marble is of exceptional quality.

Italian marble has earned its reputation primarily because the quarries in Italy have access to some of the best raw material in the world. Secondly, Italian quarries have set the highest standards for quality control and everything from selecting and cutting the blocks to packaging and shipping is done with precision.

So that you can better understand where to use Italian marble in your home, it helps to learn about how it is formed.

Marble has also been known as “crystallized limestone” because this is exactly how it is formed. When the sedimentary rock (limestone) is subject to a high temperature and immense pressure, large crystals form and bind together to create the metamorphic rock, marble. In marble however, we do not see the fossils in the same way that we would in limestone as the heat needed to form the crystals means that most of the impurities (fossils) are destroyed. So you are left with large sections of white marble with a varying degree of coloured ‘veins’ running through it which depends on the type of minerals present in the rock; this naturally varies depending on the original location of the marble, giving a uniqueness to each and every one.

The intense heat and pressure in the earth's core and the consequent formation of large crystals means that marble is harder and more durable than the limestone it originated from. This makes it an ideal choice for any areas of your home that are in frequent use, such as kitchens, bathrooms and hallways. Marble has been used for centuries not only in construction but in art too, for statues and vases for example, thanks to it resilient nature. Marble can be polished to give a high shine due to the way that light reflects off of the large, pure crystals. A simple sheet of polished marble with its exquisite veining can, in its own right, be a work of art produced by nature.

The fact that marble is generally more durable than limestone does not mean, however, that it is indestructible. It requires a little awareness of what can damage it.