GRIGIO COLLEMANDINA

High compactness, perfect polishability and an intense grey background with brown inclusions woven by white and golden veins: these are the distinctive characteristics of Grigio Collemandina, a limestone from Central Italy with a past… redhead.    

From red to grey: the evolution of Collemandina

Initially, the material obtained from the quarries was of an intense ruby red colour crossed by whitish veins. Rosso Collemandina, thanks to its colour and its preciousness, was extremely requested and particularly suitable to furnish churches and noble palaces.

Currently, however, Rosso Collemandina has become a difficult material to find, since most of the quarries from which it was extracted, they have now a completely different colour material: the deep grey with light brown shades that we identify as Collemandina grey.

Geological origin and geographical origin of Grigio Collemandina  

This natural stone comes from Tuscany, more precisely from Villa Collemandina, a town located in the village of Garfagnana, in the province of Lucca, at the foot of a rocky outcrop dating back to the Jurassic era. Here the rock layers are made up of calcareous sediments rich in ammonites, which over the millennia have painted the rock of a characteristic ruby colour, typical of Rosso Collemandina.

Elegance and resistance: the main technical and aesthetic characteristics of Collemandina

Grigio Collemandina is a limestone, known for its extraordinary compactness and for its impeccable treatment of sanding and polishing. This high-quality marble is very precious and, thanks to its unique characteristics and the whitish and gold veins that characterize it, allows you to add style, elegance and refinement to any project. Its typical greyish colour is enhanced both by the perfect mirror polish and by the polished and brushed workings, which make it suitable for the most modern projects.

Among the technical characteristics of this elegant marble, there is an excellent resistance to compression and bending, a high resistance to wear and to trampling, and a low coefficient of imbibition, thanks to which it does not suffer frost damage.

Here are the main technical characteristics of Grigio Collemandina marble:

	STANDARD	U.M.	MAIN VALUE	DEV. ST.
EN 13755-08	Water absorption at atmospheric pressure	%	0.08	0.04
EN 1936-07	Apparent density	KG/m3	2700	5.2
EN 1936-07	Open porosity	%	0.2	0.14
	In its natural state	MPa	17.3	5.5
	EN 12371-03 after 48 cycles of freezing	MPa	16.9	8
EN 1926-07	Resistance to compression	MPa	94	40.9

Recommended finishing

Certain processes, such as mirror polishing and honing, allow to emphasize even more the chromatic beauty and the intense shade of Grigio Collemandina. For this reason, polishing and honing, are the most used finishes. However, Grigio Collemandina marble is also suitable for other processes, according to the needs of the project. Brushing, for example, ensures homogeneity and a silky appearance to the surface of the stone.

The main areas of use of Grigio Collemandina

Collemandina marble was appreciated and widely used in the past, when its typical colour was ruby red: the presence in many churches, balustrades, floors, columns, and sophisticated wall coverings in Rosso Collemandina are the testimony of the quality always recognized to the material. Thanks to its resistance, this material has been used a lot in the areas surrounding the quarries also for the construction of the houses of villages such as Sassorosso, an ancient, inhabited nucleus perfectly preserved.

Nowadays, the grey-brown hue of Collemandina marble makes it a material suitable for many types of application. Grigio Collemandina is mainly used for flooring and cladding in both ancient and modern buildings.

*alt text: rivestimento interno marmo grigio collemandina

Characterized by a high compactness and polishability, it is ideal to enhance the elegance and beauty of flooring, large surfaces, and luxury finishes, thanks to its geometric designs and the characteristic veined structure, highlighted by the “open stain” effect. The whitish and gold veins make it perfect to give an elegant and contemporary touch to furniture and design projects.

The Alberti & Alberti warehouses have a wide range of Grigio Collemandina in different sizes, thicknesses and finishes.

Check availability in real time or contact us to produce slabs on request.