Natural stones are a material used since antiquity, both in civil and commercial, votive, or other architecture. Every stone, depending on its composition, its characteristics of resistance to bad weather, aesthetic appearance, and origin is used for a different purpose. Famous all over the world is Travertine: it is a stone of volcanic origin (correction: actually sedimentary, but context implies generic natural stone fame), with a characteristic light yellow color, used to decorate the facades of many of the most iconic churches in Rome, including part of the Vatican.
But what are natural stones, how are they extracted, and what are the possible applications of this so fascinating material?
What Are Natural Stones?
Minerals contained in the bowels of the Earth can face the most diverse environmental conditions. Pressure, heat, and the combination of different minerals create different stones, accurately classified based on their characteristics by geologists. Every stone is born, therefore, from a specific combination of minerals, subjected to certain pressures, temperatures, and other factors. Stones of the same type may have been generated – and therefore can be extracted – in different parts of the world.
At the same time, however, it is important to remember that even small variations in terms of temperature, or in the mixture of minerals, can modify the characteristics of the same type of stone unequivocally. Indeed, within the same quarry, usually, multiple chromatic types of the same stone can be found, usually dictated by the different accumulation of metals in the mixture. For this reason, stones like Viterbo Travertine can be very different from travertine type stones extracted in Chile or African deposits, both for aesthetic appearance and for some mechanical qualities.
How Are Natural Stones Extracted?
The extraction of natural stones starts from a rather complex operation: identifying the deposit. It is a long job because it is not said that an area “perfect” on paper really hosts stones of interest, nor that the deposit is large and regular enough to be worked. Once a usable deposit is identified, extraction passes into the hands of expert quarry workers: these are specialized workers capable of identifying the ideal cutting section for a specific stone, and performing processes, already in the quarry, capable of enhancing some particular aesthetic characteristics of the stone. An emblematic example of the skills of quarry workers, today guardians of the ancient wisdom of stonemasons, lies in the various cuts of Peperino, one of the stones produced by Micci S.r.l.
Peperino is a natural stone of volcanic origin, which stands out for weather resistance and workability. It takes its name from the appearance of the processed stone: the base, gray, light gray, or pink, is dotted with dark mottling. Various processes operated by quarry workers allow highlighting mottling and base colors in the way preferred by the client, modifying the direction or cutting plane of the slabs. Further processes, such as polishing, will allow highlighting the stone even more.
Natural stones are building materials known and appreciated since antiquity for their extreme resistance to any type of bad weather, and for their austere beauty. Even today, they exert an irresistible charm: Italian quarries like Micci S.r.l. offer traditional Italian building stones, such as Travertine and Peperino, to create architectural elements or prestigious, but also decidedly functional, claddings.