Travertine Product Information

Travertine is a form of Limestone deposited by hot mineral springs. The colours that it tends to form in are Ivory, Beige and Brown it often has a fibrous or concentric appearance. Travertine is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often this happens at the mouth of hot springs or in a limestone cave. In limestone caves it can form as stalactities or Stalagmites and other speleothems. Travertine is often used as a building material in Italy, Turkey, Greece and Spain.

Uses for Travertine
Travertine is commonly used as a building material. During ancient Rome the Romans mined deposits of travertine. They built several large structures from Travertine the most famous of these being the Colosseum, The Colosseum is the single largest building in the world which is constructed mostly from Travertine. There are other famous buildings dotted around the world which are built using mainly Travertine these are the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Paris and also the Shell-Haus in Berlin. The Travertine which was used to build these structures was imported from Tivoli and Guidonia where you can find the most important quarries since Ancient Roman times. The reason why these quarries hold such importance is because it is where Gian Lorenzo Bernini selected material from to build the worlf famous (colonnato di Piazza S.Pietro) The Colonnade of St. Peter's Square in Rome in 1500. Travertine derives its name from the former town, known as Tibur in ancient Roman times. The ancient name for the travertine stone was Lapis tiburtinus. Over hundreds of years this name has gradually changed into what we now know it as Travertine.

Travertine is one of many products which are used for paving and garden paths. Travertine is sometimes known as travertine limestone or travertine marble; it is the same stone, but travertine is classed as a type of limestone it isn't a type of marble. Travertine is easily identifiable but its pitted holes and troughs which run through the stone. These pitts and troughs occur naturally in the stone.

You can buy travertine with may different finished filled, Unfilled, Honed and Filled, Tumbled, Chipped edge, pillowed edge and Polsihed. It also comes in a variety of colours from dark grey through to coral-red. Travertine is usually and most commonly sold as travertine tiles for use within the house. But it can also be used externally as long as it is cut to the correct thickness.

Travertine has become over the past 50 years one of the most frequently used stones in modern day architecture. It is commonly used for wall cladding, and flooring. The walls of the Willis Tower in Chicago are made from travertine. Most of the travertine which is used around the world comes from Italy, Iran, Mexico, Turkey and Peru. Over the last ten years there has been a a large growth in the export of travertine from countries such as Turkey, before this boom Italy held the monopoly on the world travertine market.