Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
    • Series home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Current volume
    • All volumes
    • Collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • Access for GSL Fellows
    • Access for other member types
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
  • Alert sign up
    • eTOC alerts
    • Online First alerts
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
    • GSL blog
  • Propose
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Follow gsl on Twitter
  • Visit gsl on Facebook
  • Visit gsl on Youtube
  • Visit gsl on Linkedin
Geological Society, London, Special Publications

Advanced search

  • Home
    • Series home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Current volume
    • All volumes
    • Collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • Access for GSL Fellows
    • Access for other member types
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
  • Alert sign up
    • eTOC alerts
    • Online First alerts
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
    • GSL blog
  • Propose

Pietra Serena: the stone of the Renaissance

F. Fratini, E. Pecchioni, E. Cantisani, S. Rescic and S. Vettori
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 173-186, 3 September 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.11
F. Fratini
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
E. Pecchioni
2Earth Science Department–University of Florence, Via G. La Pira, 4 50121 Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: elena.pecchioni@unifi.it
E. Cantisani
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
S. Rescic
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
S. Vettori
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
PreviousNext
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

The most frequently used material in Florentine Renaissance architecture was Pietra Serena, a sandstone that nowadays is found in a quite satisfactory state of conservation. The reason for this is that architects and stone cutters in the past made careful selections of the materials they employed. This conscientious picking out was very important because most sandstone layers have a composition that is not always suitable for assuring an acceptable durability. This paper deals with the mineralogical, chemical, petrographical and physical characteristics of the Pietra Serena sandstone quarried in the hills near Florence in order to verify what was affirmed by Vasari (1568), Tuscan painter, architect and historian of art of the 16th century, and other Tuscan naturalists regarding the quality of this sandstone.

As a matter of fact, analyses demonstrate that the Pietra Serena sandstones quarried in the hills of Settignano (to the northeast of Florence) and in the Gonfolina area (Lastra a Signa, to the west of Florence), are composed of layers particularly rich in calcite present mainly as sparitic cement. This calcitic cement gives great durability to the stone as is demonstrated by the good state of conservation of some Florentine monuments realized with Pietra Serena.

  • © The Geological Society of London 2015
View Full Text

Please note that if you are logged into the Lyell Collection and attempt to access content that is outside of your subscription entitlement you will be presented with a new login screen. You have the option to pay to view this content if you choose. Please see the relevant links below for further assistance.

INDIVIDUALS

Log in using your username and password

– GSL fellows: log in with your Lyell username and password. (Please check your access entitlements at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/fellowsaccess)
– Other users: log in with the username and password you created when you registered. Help for other users is at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/lyellcollection_faqs
Forgot your username or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article for 24 hours and download the PDF within the access period. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one. To download the PDF, click the 'Purchased Content' link in the receipt email.

LIBRARY USERS

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.
If you think you should have access, please contact your librarian or email sales@geolsoc.org.uk

LIBRARIANS

Administer your subscription.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions about the Lyell Collection publications website, please see the access help page or contact sales@geolsoc.org.uk

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this volume

Geological Society, London, Special Publications: 407 (1)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Volume 407
2015
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation tools

Pietra Serena: the stone of the Renaissance

F. Fratini, E. Pecchioni, E. Cantisani, S. Rescic and S. Vettori
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 173-186, 3 September 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.11
F. Fratini
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
E. Pecchioni
2Earth Science Department–University of Florence, Via G. La Pira, 4 50121 Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: elena.pecchioni@unifi.it
E. Cantisani
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
S. Rescic
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
S. Vettori
1CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto Fiorentino-Florence, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Permissions
View PDF
Share

Pietra Serena: the stone of the Renaissance

F. Fratini, E. Pecchioni, E. Cantisani, S. Rescic and S. Vettori
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 173-186, 3 September 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.11
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Email to

Thank you for sharing this Geological Society, London, Special Publications article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Pietra Serena: the stone of the Renaissance
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Geological Society, London, Special Publications
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Geological Society, London, Special Publications.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
Download PPT
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Pietra Serena from the Etruscans to the 19th Century
    • The varieties of Pietra Serena
    • Geological setting and description
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgments
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Similar Articles

Cited By...

  • Most read
  • Most cited
Loading
  • The history of the European oil and gas industry (1600s–2000s)
  • Introduction to Himalayan tectonics: a modern synthesis
  • Fifty years of the Wilson Cycle concept in plate tectonics: an overview
  • Himalayan earthquakes: a review of historical seismicity and early 21st century slip potential
  • Fundamental controls on fluid flow in carbonates: current workflows to emerging technologies
More...

Special Publications

  • About the series
  • Books Editorial Committee
  • Submit a book proposal
  • Author information
  • Supplementary Publications
  • Subscribe
  • Pay per view
  • Alerts & RSS
  • Copyright & Permissions
  • Activate Online Subscription
  • Feedback
  • Help

Lyell Collection

  • About the Lyell Collection
  • Lyell Collection homepage
  • Collections
  • Open Access Collection
  • Open Access Policy
  • Lyell Collection access help
  • Recommend to your Library
  • Lyell Collection Sponsors
  • MARC records
  • Digital preservation
  • Developing countries
  • Geofacets
  • Manage your account
  • Cookies

The Geological Society

  • About the Society
  • Join the Society
  • Benefits for Members
  • Online Bookshop
  • Publishing policies
  • Awards, Grants & Bursaries
  • Education & Careers
  • Events
  • Geoscientist Online
  • Library & Information Services
  • Policy & Media
  • Society blog
  • Contact the Society

Published by The Geological Society of London, registered charity number 210161

Print ISSN 
0305-8719
Online ISSN 
2041-4927

Copyright © 2021 Geological Society of London