Travertine, Tivoli and tourism

 TIVOLI -- From the Roman Colosseum to Saint Peter’s Basilica to the construction of the new airport in Riyadh, Suadi Arabia, travertine stone helped build the Roman Empire, fuel the Renaissance and continues to supply the world with a monumental foundation.

Travertine is considered a terrestrial limestone found around mineral springs. Its high porosity makes it lighter and easier to work with than other building materials. The stone is a light yellowish, sedimentary limestone rock of chemical origin and is characterised by small cavities with a compact structure. With its high resistance to atmospheric agents; travertine has been used since ancient Roman times as a building and ornamental material. 

We visited the quarry and headquarters of Degemar Cave SRL, the largest open pit mine owner and operator of travertine in Tivoli. Our tour guide for the quarry was Vicenzo De Gennaro, Architect and CEO of Degemar Cave. 

When asked about who is purchasing the most travertine from Tivoli, he responded, ”Saudi Arabia is currently a rapidly expanding market due to their many ambitious projects, primarily aimed at overtaking the United Arab Emirates as a tourism hub.” One of the many projects in Suadi Arabia that travertine will be used for is their new airport in Riyadh. The new King Salman International Airport will be completed in 2030 and will be the largest airport in the world. 

Vincenzo then followed up with, “China has also recently made a strong comeback in their domestic market which is enormous. We are currently supplying travertine for the new Chinese People's Party headquarters in Shengzhen, as well as commercial, office, and residential complexes in both Beijing and Hangzhou.”

The word "travertine" derives from the Latin, lapis tiburtinus, meaning stone of Tibur, the ancient name of the modern-day city of Tivoli. The largest building made of travertine in the world is the Roman Colosseum. Centuries later, Michelangelo and Bernini both selected stones from quarries in Tivoli for the construction of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The majority of the Trevi Fountain was also created from the same material.

Currently, Degemar Cave has three quarries between Tivoli and Guidonia and is looking to open two more in the near future to expand production. The quarry that we visited was the same one that Lorenzo Bernini used for the colonnades of Saint Peter’s Square (over 44,000 cubic meters) centuries ago. This is evident by Bernini’s farmhouse which still overlooks the modern quarry. 

Durning ancient Rome and the Renaissance, Tivoli was an attractive place to have a villa with the cool mountain climate and attractive position on the Aniene river. Today, the town relies on tourism to its historical sites and the world-renowned travertine business. 

Tourism is Tivoli’s other biggest industry and is well-known for the sites of Villa d’Este and Villa Adriana, but there is so much more to see. We had an opportunity to visit a few other sites which would make this place a worthwhile overnight destination from Rome.

Villa Georgiana with its impressive terraced landscaping was created by Pope Gregory XVI by diverting the flow of the river in 1831 to stop the sporadic flooding of the town. The Temple of Vesta, located inside, was constructed during the first century BCE. This was the main site and inspired John Soanes to design the neoclassical Tivoli corner at The Bank of England in 1805 after the original design he saw at Tivoli. Soane, like many other wealthy Europeans, visited the city during the Grand Tour in the 17th and 18th centuries. 

Another site with a multi-use history is the Tomb of the Plauzi, commissioned by a wealthy Roman family during the first century AD. The cylindrical mausoleum is considered one of the most famous ancient tombs in Roman Campagna and is covered by travertine blocks from the same Tivoli quarry that supplied the material for the Colosseum. The tomb was repurposed during the 14th century to guard a nearby bridge, Ponte Lucano, which crosses the Aniene river and was the main passage to Rome from Tivoli.

From travertine to tourism, visiting Tivoli will provide you a window into Italy’s diverse history and makes for a pleasant overnight trip away from the usual sites in Rome.