Statuario

Statuario is a white marble from the Apuan Alps, quarried in a few sites above Carrara, in Tuscany. It owes its name to its use: from Michelangelo onwards, sculptors sought it out for a grain so fine and even that it takes the chisel without flaking. Today it is a worktop, an island, a bathroom wall or a floor, and one of the rarest white marbles in the world.

Composition. Like every Apuan marble, Statuario is a metamorphic rock of almost pure calcite, with a fine, even, sugar-like grain (what geologists call saccharoidal): this is what gives it a luminosity no other white achieves.

Colour. A full, luminous white that drifts neither towards grey, like Bianco Carrara, nor towards the milky tone of Calacatta, almost free of blemishes and clouding.

Veining. A few grey veins, sharp and decisive, crossing the slab as if drawn with a brush. In Statuario Venato the veins are denser and more pronounced; in Statuario Extra the ground is at its purest.

Hardness. A calcareous marble, and therefore softer than granite or quartzite: a steel object dragged across it can mark it, and acids dull its polish. In return it copes well with moderate heat and, with the sealer renewed, with daily use in the kitchen.

• Kitchen. Worktops, islands and splashbacks: Statuario lights up the room and holds its own against dark timber, brass and black. A sink carved from the same slab and an upstand carrying the vein up the wall show it off best. See our indoor marble kitchens.
• Bathroom. Book-matched shower walls, basin tops, baths and basins carved from the solid: in the bathroom Statuario is at its finest, as light and water bring out the white. See our marble bathrooms.
• Stairs. Treads and risers in Statuario lend gravitas to an entrance hall; we recommend a honed finish and a light bevel. See our marble staircases.
• Floors. Large slabs or modular sizes, polished or honed, for living rooms and hallways; where there is heavy footfall, honed shows fewer marks. See our marble floors.
• Outdoors: no. Outside, the fine white of Statuario yellows in the sun, stains in the rain and suffers in frost. For outdoor kitchens we recommend granite, quartzite or sintered stone.

The same slab changes voice with the finish, as we show on our finishes page.

• Polished. Closes the pores, sharpens the contrast of the vein and deepens the white. It asks for more care, because a ring left by lemon shows at once.
• Honed. Matt, soft as silk, a shade lighter: the most practical finish for kitchen worktops, as it softens rings and light scratches, and the one we recommend most often for Statuario in daily use.
• Brushed. A gently undulating, satin surface that hides the marks of use; less common on Statuario, but it gives a floor an antique feel.

Kitchen and bathroom tops in Statuario are made from slabs of 2 and 3 centimetres. The 2 cm slab is lighter and suits a built-up edge; the 3 cm slab is solid by nature and takes the overhang of a peninsula and the cut-out for a carved sink.

• Book-matching. Two consecutive slabs from one block, opened like the pages of a book: the grey vein mirrors itself along the joint in a symmetrical butterfly. On an island or a shower wall it is the most theatrical gesture Statuario allows.
• Waterfall edge. The worktop runs down the side of the island without a break: the vein continues to the floor and the island becomes a monolith of light.
• Mitred joint at 45°. Two slabs cut diagonally through their thickness, so that the edge shows the polished face on both sides and the joint all but disappears: this is how a 2 cm top presents a 6 or 10 cm front, and how a waterfall edge is built.

Every detail begins in the three-dimensional design, as we explain on our workmanship page: you see the slab cut before the saw touches the marble.

Statuario comes from very few quarries, in limited quantities: among the Apuan whites it is the rarest and the most variable. Under the same trade name you will find purer or less pure grounds and denser or sparser veins, depending on bench and year of extraction: you do not buy a name, you buy a slab. In Aprilia, Statuario slabs are chosen one by one, in person or by video call, for the purity of the ground, the direction of the vein against the design and the absence of fissures that cutting might open. For book-matching, consecutive numbered slabs are bought together. The method is in our guide to choosing marble for your kitchen.

Statuario is a fine-grained white: it shows stains more readily than other marbles and asks for a few habits.

• Daily cleaning with a soft cloth, warm water and a few drops of neutral soap; rinse and dry.
• Wipe up lemon, vinegar, wine, tomato and fizzy drinks at once: acids do not stain, they etch, leaving a dull ring only re-polishing removes.
• No limescale removers, bleach or abrasive sponges; always a chopping board and trivet.
• Sealer renewed once a year: it slows the absorption of oil, wine and coffee. Our worktops leave the workshop already sealed.
• For an absorbed stain, a poultice of bicarbonate of soda and water, covered for a day; a worn polish is restored in the workshop.

Every remedy is in our guide to marble worktop care and maintenance.

The three great Apuan whites look alike from afar and part company up close. Calacatta has a milkier ground and broad veins, grey or gold: the marble of islands that want to be looked at. Bianco Carrara has a cooler white and fine, diffuse veining: the most widely available and the most balanced in cost. Statuario has a purer ground than either, a few decisive veins, and is the rarest of the three.

Pure light: Statuario. Pattern: Calacatta. Balance and availability: Carrara. All three are in our marble catalogue and our glossary.

Since 1976 our workshop in Aprilia, on the Via Pontina between Rome and Latina, has worked the Apuan marbles the same way: slabs chosen one by one, a three-dimensional design, numerically controlled cutting and hand finishing of edges, sinks and curved pieces. Installation is by our own team, in Italy and abroad, as in Dubai. Site survey and quotation are free in Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio; elsewhere we work from a measured survey and video calls, and deliver and install wherever you are. Write to us from our contact page with your worktop measurements or a bathroom plan, and we will tell you whether Statuario is the right stone for you.