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As is frequent in the Italian language, 'Marmorino' is the diminutive, and even the affectionate nickname, of its big brother 'Marmo'. It is made of small scraps coming from cutting and trimming of marble, which is currently used for manufacturing 'Marmorino'. You could almost think you were watching cooks at work. Every 'Nona' and every 'Mama' in Italy is capable of preparing a delicious dinner from leftovers. Anyway, we do not know which custom is the oldest, but it is certain that they both have always existed in this country.
Other cultures such as the Greeks and probably the Etruscans and especially later the Venetians - only to speak of Europe - willingly recognized that this material opened up possibilities of decoration. The Venetians discovered that it was possible to tint the material before applying it and because of this to make it a high-level decoration, also on the exterior. Elsewhere, where marble and limestone were exploited, it was noted that the material was not only used as a wall coating, but also as a form of decoration. Just look carefully at the temples and palaces in India and the chiseled and engraved ones of the Islamic culture, and also their underground hallways and passages, most of which are paved, plastered or covered with this material that we call Marmorino. This is why now saying that it is impossible to manufacture this product without chemical additives is pure nonsense.
In the Venetian Republic, those who had the means coated their interior and exterior walls with Marmorino, not only for its elegance but also for the recognized properties of this material. The facades, by their very nature, resisted weather, except in the case of exterior impact. They underwent no alterations, did not become loose, even if cracks formed. The same is still true today and everyone can see it when they visit Venice. Also, in the excavations at Pompeii, sections of walls and paintings are still intact. Even the colors have resisted the influence of sunrays and weather. Of course, appropriate natural pigments were used. These techniques have been mastered since then, and more especially the Venetian era, at least up until our time.
But entirely or partially synthetic (because containing lime) imitations have technical and optical disadvantages, and also in the capacities of the products such as permeability and 'breath ability'. All of them cannot be used on the exterior. In the best of cases, synthetic products can reach a similar optical effect, but it stops there. It is the natural, ecological (and not biological) properties of a material such as Marmorino that we want to find nowadays. If, moreover, the whole can be worked cleanly and be decorative, it is complete, not for following a fad but for healthier living. However, it must be specified that if the Romans or later cultures knew about synthetic products, they would have had just as few scruples as today. But they could only be happy with what Nature gave them, make do with it and exploit it as well as possible. Slowly and irrevocably, we must return to these ancestral principles.
The optical aspect is also important. The sight is not just for the eye, it also for the 'feeling', the particularity, the 'sentiment'. It is generally said that beautiful things must be looked at with the eye, not the hand, which is often true, but it is also said that it is the exception that proves the rule. Marmorino is as beautiful to look at, as it is agreeable to touch. You can see this after having made the experience yourself. On the contrary, a waxed surface can be unpleasant to touch even if it is pleasing to the eye. Not everyone appreciates the sensation of an oily surface. And once again it can be noted: synthetics do not reproduce such a particularity.
Concerning the raw materials As before, we can make the comparison with food preparation. As a simplistic explanation, knowing that the material can only be applied in the form of a flexible, malleable paste, you take - in the same way as for making bread - flour (marble powder), yeast (slaked lime) and water. Everything is mixed together. The exact composition in percentages, the granulation of the marble, the color of the lime or the hardness of the water were and are the manufacturing secret of each producer - who used to be personally in charge of application. The real 'recipes', were handed down from father to son and even to another successor, from generation to generation. Like for bread. In order to obtain a specific product (sort of bread), only the baker knows the exact components, the kneading time, the baking time. The same is true for Marmorino. What type of Marble? What grain size? What lime? What storage time and what degree of humidity does it have? What amount of water with what degree of hardness? What mixing method and time? So many questions that before were not necessarily asked since the applier himself produ-ced his paste on the job site according to his own formula and his own knowledge. They have been kept (but not written in order to avoid plagiarizing) and handed down from one generation to the next, with the tools that needed to be used for many years. These three things, the formula, the know-how and the tool, were a capital unto themselves. But in all things, there were ultra-perfectionists (who could be considered as artists) and the ones who had just learned the usual method (of manufacture and of application). It was normal and the fact accepted that there were almost as many products as appliers, the product evolving from production to production. And even from one generation to another, it could not be guaranteed that the knowledge was correctly handed down. Already in ancient times, adaptations due to changes in the environment were known (here, we are thinking more about the effect of war than ecology). For example, conflicts could prevent the supply of raw materials or pigments and, in order to be able to continue working, the applier had to improvise or adapt, which led to modifications in the formula and sometimes even the work methods. Differences existed not only on a same job site, but also in a same room, which raised no problems, at least in Italy. On the contrary, it was considered as Art (even if it was more improvisation than decorative art), as something unique. Application of Marmorino remains an exceptional thing, even if the base material, the paste, the pigments, the various construction instructions were and are the same.
Concerning technical means The technical means were simple. In order to grind, mix and knead, it was not necessary to invent new tools. Food preparation was used as an example again: the means were adapted to the material and improved in time. The same thing is also true for the tools. But in our time this is not possible without special spatulas, given that the worked lime does not allow modifications (often for cost reasons).
Formerly, in principle, a stock was not created, but produced according to need, on the site itself and only the amount required for the day, already for simple keeping reasons. The questions of the possibilities for shipping, storing the finished product did not arise, other than the fact that the producer could only work in a limited geographic zone. Until the 20th century, the indispensable logistic conditions did not exist. This prevented exporting on a large scale and the product remained inaccessible for the general public. This is the reason why, in Europe and America, there were no users trained in application outside of Italy. The only field where exportation was possible was in renovating Catholic churches where no expense was spared at least in Europe. About twenty years ago, reproducing these optical effects was imagined using synthetic products - spatula techniques were talked about - and that they could be successful elsewhere than in Italy. As was to be expected, modern industry got hold of the market, without seeking to copy the natural product but wanting just to use the visual effect of the products, which were first partially and then completely synthetic. At that time, ecological issues in general or in the field of construction in particular were not in the news. These synthetic products brought a solution to the problem. With the development of the ecology movement and the ever-greater demand for pro-ducts as natural as possible, the industries partially introduced limestone, degraded to the simple role of a binder. It could thus bear the name 'on mineral base'. Then appeared the problem of the smell of the synthetic product: in order to lessen this disadvantage, a perfume was introduced during a manufacturing phase, but this had nothing to do with natural (as of now it is not knew of perfumed mineral in nature).
For waterproofing and equalizing, Marmorino must be worked rapidly, even on unprepared bases (in the absence of plaster, roughcasting or other, as we know them today). Marmorino being a purely mineral product, the process for binding it was known without being able to explain it but as a fact offered by nature, without the administrative development required today. The fact that almost all bases were adapted, especially if it was even a little bit rough, is still valid today for Marmorino. If the fact is added that we can manufacture it in the form of a paste on an industrial scale in order to be able to transport it, to work it immediately or to keep it with no restrictions, whether at high or low temperatures without damaging it, even though it is recommended to prepare it between 5ƒ C and 40ƒ C. The specificity of the product requires however an exact humidity rate (not to high not to less) otherwise the working time must be adjusted. The advantages of stocking means also - differently from imitations - there is very less waste of material since any leftovers, as long as they are clean, can be reused to the last speck. During the chemical reaction of 'recalicification', the contained humidity must not evaporate too fast. This means that for highly absorbing supports/undergrounds, it is recommended to apply a sand (quartz)-based coat without solvent. It is also possible to apply a very fine coat of coarse Marmorino. The fact that the surface is thus rougher makes it possible to reach the required material thickness automatically at the first pass. This first application, which technically makes it possible to reach a specific thickness, must absolutely not be smooth and beautiful, but it applied quickly and regularly. This step already differentiates Marmorino from imitations. Moreover, always the same material is used, from the beginning to the end. Only the granulation, coarse of fine, of the marble can change as requested by the client and the tint. This also sets it off from imitations. Marmorino must never be sanded during the application (with the exception of angles, retouching or repairs). Why must Marmorino not be sanded? Simply because in the compression procedure (final phase), the product, even dry, is in a relatively soft mass that must reach a certain thickness that will be decreased by sanding. The big advantage is the absence of dust (an enormous problem during renovations). Herein also a big difference with imitations. The surface is leveled with a special spatula reserved for this last operation. This step must be perfectly mastered and requires training. After the 'vitrification' process (in chemistry, you talk about cold combustion of the lime and mechanically this is a compression of a surface), a mirror effect is obtained and also a visual effect of depth, which can only be believed after having seen, lived and felt it. As a mineral product, it not only has the particularity of being ageless but also to improve with age. It also has its specificities during application. They are given on the data sheets and during seminars, but reading and knowledge are not enough. Without a good tool and a feeling for the material, you cannot grasp the product. The first can be bought; the second can only be learned. And like all processes and activities in life, you learn through permanent practice (don't we say: 'in doing we learn' and 'experience must be bought'?). And here it is not just the agility of the hands holding the tool but also the eye and the mind. The mind. It must imagine the finished work, what must finally be optically reached, or in other words: the mind must not loose track of the what it is doing, which is that much harder to do when the surface is large and / or difficult. An occasional spectator in front of any phase of work whatsoever cannot imagine what is being created, from the point of view of the aspect. A professional could see better what is happening without seeing the creation of the 'artist'. The phenomenon is identical in painting or sculpture. The eye must be able to recognize the right time for the three successive phases. This is especially true for the drying times that only Nature can prescribe for this mineral product and which must be correctly estimated. A particularity of nature is that it rarely takes revenge immediately. And it is also a point where - most offers being underestimated - an ignorant person, thinking to save time, is caught up by his errors. The blame is then of course put on the product (even if it has proven itself for centuries except for the applier who does not want to recognize his errors!). This is also true for preparing the color. Once again, slaked lime does not behave like a spray or a lacquer. When errors are made during preparation or application, they can show up easily, unlike synthetic products. A theme all by itself is also the one of the various aspects (that can only be defined by the eye and is part of the acquired experience) during the work phases. The final aspect is not visible throughout the operation, even though an experienced person will know exactly what it will be. Here too it can be compared to Nature: the final aspect of a fruit cannot be seen until it is ripe, an aspect that an experienced person can predict during development, on the contrary to another who has no experience and who will then talk about a 'surprise'. To return to Marmorino and to Italy where this product has been manufactured and used for centuries, these well known phenomena have also entered into the mentality of the consumer, which means that the product itself is never criticized. You know what can be expected from the product or not, and what it is recommended to buy. It never enters the mind of anyone to require an extreme, uniform gloss from Marmorino, which is an effect, obtained only from imitations, and without wondering why or how. There are no explanations to be provided which is different from, for example, a product with mineral base or one that is entirely mineral. Other than the fact, already mentioned earlier, that the hands must 'feel' the product in addition to visual recognition, the craftsman must master his work not only in his technique but also in his sensitivity. The good handling of the spatula, different at each step, with the right pressure at the right moment, depends on the experience that some acquire more easily that others, some becoming true 'masters' in the field. It makes you think of the traditional 'Saviors', already mentioned. As for the tools, modern techniques have allowed them to improve constantly. This improvement is available to the craftsman. Formerly, the tool was improved, 'broken in' with time and that is why it was 'bequeathed' with the knowledge. Today, it is just as important to 'break in' a tool, the best of productions cannot avoid this, but manufacturing techniques are such that it has become almost possible to use them immediately. The shape of these new tools - in these case spatulas - is not dictated only by design, as many think, but it has its specific use for the application. It is astonishing that an application technique so specialized only requires two spatulas. This investment has no relation to the sales results obtained, the fact being sufficiently rare in interior decoration products to be noted.
There is a historical tradition coming from the Venetian culture that forced marbling, turning it into a highly stylized art and because of this a luxury decorative means. And curiously, this has only developed in one cultural context, for geographic successors and in the Catholic Church. All possible types of decoration are found in marble and marble paste structures in India and the Arab countries, but no marbling. Marbling could somehow be considered as an imitation - the visual imitation of a marble slab - but with a purely mineral base and the same raw material (it must be remembered here that in nature limestone precedes marble, just like coal precedes diamonds). Historical tradition gives the following explanation: when the Venetian Republic was at war with the Genoese, they were forbidden to import Carrara marble. The Venetians - or at least their thinking heads used to luxury - discovered that on Marmorino - the other marble - with a better surface compression, a high degree of gloss could be obtained without the help of the Genoese. Thus the upper pass became more transparent, which led to the idea that marbling could be painted on during the second pass before 'vitrification'. Paintings were thus integrated into the product and could only be removed by the complete destruction of the whole. This technique opened the door to many decoration possibilities, insofar as the right professional could be found. Here only true artists were called upon. The advantage with respect to marble which, even though easier to lay and to work, raised the problem of angles or rounded edges such as on columns, which could thus be marbled. For example, columns 2 to 3 meters high made of marble slabs do not exist; the ones you can see have been marbled (this can be seen by the absence of joints). The core of these columns could be or were in wood. An enormous difference in weight gave it the advantage, which in building today is less important. There are of course disadvantages. Independently from the thickness of the applied material, the surface compression (the 'vitrification') can only be done with a thin coat of material, which is sufficient for walls and ceilings but which on the floor where the peak load then became insufficient for avoiding cracks or chipping. The other disadvantage is the rigidity of the surface after vitrification, its incapacity to support stresses. The same problem is encountered with marble slabs, but which is limited by the angles. To return to stone, none of them can stand these stresses. With modern techniques, it is possible to alleviate this problem by reinforcing / stabilizing the base. In the originating countries, it was not conceivable to treat the base. On the contrary, cracks were considered as a natural obligation and accepted as such. On this point, a return to history is again necessary. The reinforcement technique for walls was a totally unknown technology. In spite of this, the product was used for exterior coatings, of course letting cracks appear with no one taking exception to them or questioning the solidity of the structure. This means that the question is raised if stabilizing the base is systematically necessary. If you want to see no cracks, yes, but this is rather settling an optical problem than a technical requirement. As for the decoration possibilities, the product lends itself to all originalities, as long as the laws of Nature are respected. It is recommended to comply with natural models or to renounce models that are not suited to Marmorino, or to slab marble. Most of the decorative forms obtained recently in imitation products can be made in Marmorino, but when the imitation is too abstract, it disqualifies itself and becomes a product that is absolutely not comparable. If you use the example of wallpaper decorations (the borders in particular) - which are becoming in their context - this would be not only out of place but also frankly in bad taste and an error of style. Even if it cannot be avoided, this has nothing to do with mineral decorations.
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But with modern industrial production techniques it could be manufactured this base paste with the required raw materials and a continually equal quality, without synthetic additive (only: marble, lime, water), which is not only easier to apply but also to ship without damages over long distances and to store for almost unlimited times. And thus the antique problems of logistics at exportation have disappeared and the marketing risk of selling outside of the producing country is reduced. But before concluding, things must still be clarified and understood.
The starting point concerned three questions on the manufacturing techniques:
When, where and how
