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Ascoli Piceno: the travertine city
incredibly harmonious and compact appearance of Ascoli's historical
center is due in large part to the use of travertine stone, which
from the very origins of the city, has been the principal material
used in all types of construction.
From simple dwellings to
patrician ones, to churches, to the paving of the squares, this
stone - used without interruption for two thousand years,
encompassing ever-changing styles and the march of history - has
been an epitome of the urban landscape of the city, rendering Ascoli
unique and particular.
The art of travertine
Travertine is not an easy stone to model, yet artists and artisans
of every epoch have devised ways of extracting enormously intricate
decorative elements from it. In the Middle Ages and in the
Renaissance especially, the magistri de preta represented an
extremely important reality in the arts of the city. |
The antique
tradition of travertine sculpting continues even to this day in the
relatively rare artisans' workshops and by choice of local sculptors
who are conscious of the uniqueness of the history of this art, and
are determined to not let it die out.
The Travertine Quarries
The travertine was extracted from the quarries in the city's nearby
vicinity Mount San Marco, Rosara and Acquasanta Terme, the latter
two still in activity - This stone was utilized not only locally,
but it was exported in various regions of Italy and also abroad. The quality
of the stone varies somewhat in regards to texture and tonality from
one quarry to another, nevertheless the basic ivory coloration that
each has in common tends to form a patina over the course of time,
rendering the stone that we currently admire in the city's streets
an appearance that is both solar and severe. |
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Travertine today
In 1998, to re-establish the use of this stone, the Chamber of
Commerce held a competition on a national scale for works of
sculptures and furnishings for both urban and sacred spaces using
exclusively the travertine of Ascoli. The winning works were put on
display in public parks and in other spaces of the city.
Courtesy of the
Comune Ascoli Piceno
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(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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