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ALABASTER
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History
Volterra is an artistic city situated in the heart
of Tuscany.It is a small and not very famous town covered by a mist that
comes and
goes with the seasons, a mist that gives the town the mysterious and sad
atmosphere similar to it's seasons.
The origin of the name alabaster probably comes from the egyptian city of albertson.
Alabaster comes in two varieties oriental and chalk alabaster. One presumes that alabaster was formed during the miocene ages. Alabaster is a soft stone that can easily be manipulated allowing the details even on small objects that marble cannot reach.
The Etruscans who lived in this area for many centuries used Alabaster
to build theis sarcophagus and crematory vases , all richly ornamented with
images of daily life. The etruscans only worked the best Alabaster often
even using gold finishing. The
production
and use of Alabaster went through several ups and downs. However, it is in
1800 that it reached it's peak of production, infact in 1823 there were as
many as 30 laboratories working in Volterra.
Today, only a handful of these laboratories can be found in the center of Volterra and it is upon the shoulders of the few skilled craftsmen left that lies the responsability to teach the new generation how to caress this fine white stone so as to bring out the best and most beautiful angle.