The Palladian marble floor

A palladiana is a floor composed of irregular pieces of marble, in some cases of various colours or of a single type of marble.
There are two main versions:
► The indoor version
► The outdoor version, on the other hand, involves leaving the marble 'rough' or tumbling it so that the surface has sufficient grip to ensure safe use. 

Marble Palladian for interiors

Marble Palladian is rarely used indoors. It was made by laying and polishing irregularly shaped marble tozzetti. The tozzetti can be of a single colour or of different colours. 
Once polished, this floor becomes mirror polished and the surface is seamless and uniform. 

Marble Palladiana for outdoors

While the version for interiors has fallen into disuse, the one for exteriors has experienced a moment of maximum diffusion about 20 years ago and is still used to create dialects, pavements, external arcades. 
The marble tozzetti, always of irregular shape, are tumbled into enormous drums so as to round off the edges and make the surface non-slip

Palladian and micro-palladian marble

In addition to the intended use (interior or exterior), Palladian is also classified according to the sizes of the marbles used:
► micro-palladiana - the sides of the irregular pieces used have dimensions in the order of two or three centimetres maximum
► normal palladiana - the sides are larger: about 6 to 10 centimetres. 

Tumbled or antiqued marble

The fragments of marble used for palladiana are called 'tumbled marble' (sometimes also antiqued marble).
This denomination derives from the type of working that the marble undergoes.
As we were saying, the marble fragments are inserted into a drum that is turned at a certain speed. The fragments, inside the drum, are rubbed against each other until the characteristic shaping of the edges and the roughness of the surface are obtained. 

There are two purposes for which the "tumbling" process is carried out:
► to make the floor surface non-slip: the process gives a greater grip to the marble surface;
► to give the marble an "antiqued" look. The surface and edges look worn and aged from years of foot traffic. 

Antiqued marble Palladiana in Vicenza and Verona

Marble Palladiana offers many possibilities for interpretation and can be combined with various materials, depending on the style you want to give your home. 
In the articles that follow we present some of these design possibilities realised in homes or commercial spaces in the areas of Vicenza and Verona.