Scallola

The name comes from the Italian word “sca gl ia” (scales) - the local name for the mineral selenite (transparent gypsum, a form of limestone), mined in the Italian Alps, which was used as a filler for the stucco mixture.

It is believed that the history of the use of stucco mixtures imitating stone cladding originates in antiquity, however, in the form that was known to us, the technology of scoliola appeared at the junction of the 16th – 17th centuries. The master Guido Fassi (1584–1649) from the city of Carpi, in Emilia-Romagna, consider her inventor.

The city of Carpi has become the capital of this craft. Here, using the scalol technique, panels were created for the decoration of churches, as well as small paintings, panels, shelves and tabletops, decorative inserts for furniture, chests and caskets were made.

18th century

In the 18th century, the center of the craft moved to Florence. Here, the Duke of Tuscany patronized the masters of scaloli In fact, the masters of the scaloli competed with the masters of Pietra dura (the famous lamellar Florentine mosaic made of semiprecious stones).

In Florence, the art of scallola has reached unprecedented heights, approaching in its development to the art of painting. A special role in this belonged to the monks of the Order of Vallombroz brothers Enrico Hoogford (1695-1771) and Ignacio Hoogford (1703-1778).

The heyday of the art of Scallola associated with the Baroque era. At that time, the works of Italian masters were very popular throughout Europe from Italy to England. Under their influence, masters and schools appeared in several European cultural centers. A vivid example of this is Austria and Bavaria.

Scallola in Russia

In Russia, the technology of scaloli was introduced by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817). Here they began to call it - Oselkovy marble, from the word oselok - grinding stone, which was used for grinding and polishing. Other Russian architects, builders of St. Petersburg worked with donkey marble: Bazhenov , Cameron , Monferan , Rastrelli , Stasov , Rossi.

XIX century

In the XIX century, the culmination of the development of imitation technology of stone cladding and artificial marble was the work of decorator Thomas Kershaw (1819-1898). He was called a brilliant imitator. And although he worked only in the UK, he won worldwide fame.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries stucco-like stucco became very widely used in the United States of America. This finish is called "American Scallola" or "Marezzo Scallola". The main difference between the American scalliola and the traditional one is associated with the first attempt to change the gypsum base (gypsum binders) with a cement binder that was more modern at that time.

Scallol artwork has found its place in various architectural styles , ranging from Baroque and Palladianism , to neoclassicism , eclecticism , Art Nouveau and Art Deco . Two main directions can be distinguished: free artistic and more formal, focused on virtuoso authenticity in copying a stone surface.

Currently, only a handful of creative and restoration workshops work with the rock. Modern masters work in one of two categories. Some seek to create products using historical recipes and materials that were available to the masters of a particular era and geographical location. The latter use modern binders (modern cements, magnesites, polymers, etc.), modern fillers and dyes, due to which they can significantly expand the scope of application of technology.

The traditional recipes of the old masters of scoliola had great limitations in their application due to their low resistance to water and other aggressive environments of gypsum binders. Therefore, the modern scoliol, which is based on modern types of binders, can be used not only in highly artistic interior products, but also in the exterior, wall cladding, facades of houses, columns, stairs, in floor coverings, as well as for casting complex and sculptural forms, in plumbing products, the embodiment of many other artistic ideas of designers, artists, architects, builders.

• Florentine scalola
• Bavarian scalola
• American scalola

• Terrazzo
• Florentine mosaic
• Donkey Marble

• “Scagliola, l'Arte della Pietra di Luna” - Anna Maria Massinelli - Ed. Roma 1997
• "Il fascino dell'illusione" - Silvia Botticelli - Ed. Edifir Firenze 2006
• “Alchimie di colori, l'arte della scagliola” - Silvia Botticelli - Ed. Polistampa Firenze 2012
• "The manufacture of marble in the artisanal way" - Kuzmina V.P.-. Popular Concrete Science No. 2 (10) 2006

• Bianco Bianchi - Masters of the Scallola (Russian)
• Scagliola: Auf den Spuren zu möglichen Ursprüngen und Verbreitungen einer europäischen Stucktechnik (pdf)