Fireplaces and natural stone in their perfect form

No material for sculpting and architectural work is so closely linked with the cultural history of mankind, as marble. The story of its evolution is long and fascinating.

If you believe in legends, then the marble of Corfigliano consist of the tears of the stars and beyond this that of Colonnata of the tears of Jesus Christ. For geologists, however, the birth of marble dates back more than 200 millions years, namely when the continents of Africa and Europe, which were formerly one block, started to shift to give room to the Mediterranean-sea. The lime deposits of the old sea-bed had been transformed because of enormous pressure and heat into marble. To this dramatic happening in nature, which took place over long period of time, we owe the most valuable marble deposits in Carrara.

We do not know exactly from what time men began to utilise marble. It must have been from very early age, because with the invention of the first tools it was soon discovered that this stone could easily be shaped. From the early stone mason it was only a short time, in terms of historical counting, before marble was used as building material and for making religious and cult objects.

The early Sumerian dynasties produced some interesting marble art but only with the coming of Grecian sculptors and their genius was the beauty and potential of this material really appreciated. The Romans were so impressed by this stone and the works of art produced by Greeks, that with the rising of their power they robbed many Grecian marble treasures and exploited their marble deposits to decorate their own streets, squares and palaces. With the discovery of marble deposits in the Apuan Alps a Roman marble culture rapidly developed with local sculptors and stone masons. Emperors, dictators, the Church and wealthy merchants began to appreciate this exclusive material and became the largest customers for the marble of this region. The appreciation for and the constant beauty of this material makes it impossible to think of civilisation without marble.

We have devoted our passion and individual touch to the elements of stone and fire. In the workshop of Leonardo Caminetti GmbH is being worked into a new shape what nature has created with tremendous force 200 million years ago.