ABSTRACT
This region holds the most important marble outcrops of the entire Italian territory: the Apuanian Alps (Carrara and Massa districts) and the Montagnola Senese. Marbles of Apuanian Alps feature black veined white colour and very fine grain size: they were used since the Roman times for sculptures or architectural elements. These marbles were always held in the utmost consideration (Michelangelo, Bernini, Canova) and today they are used all around the world. The exploitation of other varieties of marbles greatly increased in the 20th century: Cipollino (green veins), Calacata (reticulated grey veins) or multi-coloured Breccia Medicea. Marbles from Montagnola Senese (west of Sienna) are known for their yellow colour with dark veins, and they were mainly employed in altar decorations.
Red sedimentary rocks were quarried in different areas of the region (Collemandina, Castelpoggio, Assisi), and they were employed for their intense colour; in particular the red limestone of Assisi was employed for cladding of the buildings of piazza del Duomo. Non-clastic deposits (Travertino), quarried near Sienna, were used for cladding of Stazione Centrale (1931).
The islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea as Sardinia and Corsica (Batolith of Sardinia and Corsica, Hercynian Basement) or Elba and Giglio (Tertiary plutonites) supply great quality granites, sometimes used in the Roman period and heavily exploited since the 20th century.
