What is Scagliola?

Scagliola is a building technique that uses certain materials to imitate structures made of marble. The term "scaglia" is Italian, which means "chips". It also refers to the origin of the place for this architectural feature: the country of Italy. However, the style did not get into meaning until the 17th century. At this time, the inhabitants of the Central Italian region of Tuscany avoided expensive marble inlations three centuries before the House of Medici, a rich and powerful family based in one of the cities in Florence. The production method of such inserts is called Pietra Dura, which includes rocks, such as marble to create images. The solution of the costly company was to replicate it with cheaper material and, as a result, Scagliola spread throughout the European continent in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially to the UK.

scagliola usually consisted of mixing plaster, type of alabaster mineral better knowno as plaster Paris, with natural pigments and glue the animal was applied as a glue. This mixing method has created the color characteristics of this architectural style. After drying, the whole structure was usually polished with wax and linen oil for durability and brightness. Although Scagliola was applied to several types of structures, the most popular application was stucco columns, which were external decorative columns with high aesthetic and practical value, which were the dominant feature of the Baroque architecture produced at that time.

Scagliola style is comparable to a similar technique called Terrazzo, which also includes the imitation of marble. The style consists of stone chips located in binding material and leveled to create a smooth and complex spot. Like Scagliola, the origin of Terrazzo can be monitored by Italians, specifically construction workers based in Venice, who wanted to reduce the costs of their floor work. Terrazzo is most commonly used for floors and inRcholy counters, especially terrace and panel surfaces.

Architects and construction workers around the Western world were attracted to Scagliola for some advantages. Thanks to his unique mixture of materials he created a more seductive texture and color than a real marble. Also due to the integration of pigment into building materials rather than painting over the structure, its color application for scratches than other types of painting jobs was rather than painting. It is irony that Scagliola's practice has rejected for the same reason that it gained a predominance: costs. At the end of the middle of the 20th century, it practically disappeared mainly due to the rise of relatively cheaper mass building materials.