I rossi nodulari. Uso e diffusione nell’architettura della Sicilia

Application of red marbels in the island's architecture was mainly diffused since the XVI century. Many use of these materials are common in religious and civil architecture. This diffusion began during the starting of the extraction of these marbels from quarries in the western area of Sicily. Decisive rule has been the so called "red nodular marble", which the quarries are located in the all west of Sicily, as places as Castellammare and Alcamo, but also Piana degli Albanesi and Bolognetta. In architectural field these kind of marbles were used for balaustrades, floors, columns, facing, decoration. Particular application are especially in the building architecture, as the monumental staircase of the major eighteenth century aristocratic buildings of Palermo. The research is supported by archival documents and a significant iconography. It demonstrates, through a historical survey, the success and the wide use of these materials in noble Sicilian architecture, at least until the middle of the twentieth century.