MILAN — With its earthy nature and its natural veins and pores, travertine is formed from chemical precipitation of calcium carbonate derived from evaporated mineral-rich hot springs, rivers and even limestone caves.

Prized for its durability, lapis tiburtinus was first mined by the Romans as major building material in the 3rd century BC. The material would go on to define the Eternal City’s architectural cultural landscape, most notably, the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Basilica.

Fine travertine has traditionally been extracted from quarries around Tivoli, near Rome, as well as Tuscany and Umbria , as well as Turkey, Iran and Peru.

Design experts say that regard for travertine never faded, but today, as designers embrace designs that recall the nuances and majesty of nature, it’s back in vogue more than ever.

Still Relevant, Millennia Later

“Today it feels more relevant than ever because it speaks to all that is in step with today’s lifestyle and design — it exudes a luxurious vibe and even in its neutrality, can make a strong statement,” mused Mick De Giulio, the founder of de Giulio design and acclaimed American designer and author known for his innovative interiors and products.

De Giulio’s practice uses travertine across residential and commercial applications. Among the firm’s top travertine designs are a hand-sculpted travertine fireplace mantel mixed with hot rolled steel, and travertine floor-to-ceiling wall tiles in a family room, finished just recently. “Travertine is the consummate classic stone. It is a beautiful material to contrast against other materials, and a favorite of mine is combining it with metals,” he said.

Italy, home to the world’s lion’s share of design firms, is currently in the throes of exploring new geographical areas that could serve not only as markets but also as sources of raw materials as the world’s appetite for upscale furniture rises. The most coveted travertine, perhaps, is still quarried in Tivoli.

Third-generation Salvatori heir and the Italy-based company’s chief executive officer Gabriele Salvatori is at the forefront of fine stone extraction. The Milan-based company specializes in Italian marble but has worked with travertine for 75 years. Salvatori said the key to safeguarding travertine’s place in luxury depends on perpetuating an understanding of how to work with it as a living material rather than a commodity.

“The material intelligence we’ve accumulated — understanding how different travertines age, patina, and respond to environmental conditions — matters more than the quarry name on a spec sheet. New sources emerge periodically, but geology moves slowly,” Salvatori said, underscoring that what distinguishes travertine isn’t just geographic origin, but how it’s quarried, selected for grain direction, and processed. 

During Paris Design Week in January, emerging American designer Haydn von Werp presented Arcus, a collection comprising a bench, a daybed and a bar cart, all made mostly with travertine and inspired by ancient ruins and the contemporary Art Deco aesthetic. Von Werp said he was drawn to the material in part because of its versatility and cost-effectiveness.

“That open structure can be refined through filling for a more controlled, elegant result, or left exposed to express something more raw and architectural. This duality allows the material to shift between softness and strength, refinement and brutality,” he said.

In terms of pricing, he said, travertine typically sits in the lower-cost range because it is widely quarried and yields large, workable blocks, similar to many basalts, volcanic stones, and commercial-grade slates.

This season in Paris, travertine took center stage in both indoor and outdoor furnishings, as well as home accessories. In terms of outdoor, travertine featured prominently within outdoor collections for California-based high end interiors firm RH, as well as Cassina, for which Patricia Urquiola designed outdoor tables named Vidalenta. Italian decor firm Giobagnara introduced a game collection crafted from solid travertine, leather and wood.

In Architecture

In terms of architecture, travertine is still embraced worldwide yet working with it still remains a challenge. Salvatori, for example, worked on a building of the Zurich Polytechnic architectural design school with architect Dietmar Eberle of Austrian firm Baumschlager Eberle. The design that called for monolithic travertine panels up to about 16 feet tall, functioning as solar louvers on a reinforced concrete structure.

“The technical challenge was that no active quarry could produce blocks of that dimension… We commissioned bespoke gang saw blades, developed custom lifting equipment, and essentially rebuilt a supply chain for this single project,” Salvatori explained. Looking ahead, understanding the material’s nuances and finding the innovation to bring it forward in modern design, is key, he added.

“It’s not about having a catalog of standard dimensions. It’s about understanding what’s technically possible, what can be engineered, and having relationships deep enough in the supply chain to make it happen.”