680 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



worked but little these deposits, but to have preferred briugiug their 

 materials from more distant sources. A rich houey-yellow marble of 

 this class occurs in caverns in Archeau limestone at Busca, Cuneo 

 province, and may be seen worked up in the royal palace at Turin, 

 and in some of the private houses. It is stated to be very beautiful. A 

 banded dark yellow and white variety, forming- a handsome ornamental 

 stone, is found at Indiano Olona, in the province of Como. The stone 

 occurs in caves in Mesozoic limestone not far from the Swiss frontier. 

 At Albino, in the Val Setiaua, province of Bergamo, stones of this 

 class may be quarried in slabs of considerable superficial area but 

 limited thickness. It is used for making mantels and other articles of 

 ornament as well as for inlaid work. There are two localities of the 

 stone in the province of Brescia which may be mentioDed. One at 

 Pisogne. on the eastern side of the lake of Iseo, where a yellow-brown 

 material is obtained from stalactites iuTriassic limestone, and the other 

 at Eezzato, a few miles to the east of Brescia. The stone here is dark 

 brown, and occurs in caverns in the Liassian limestone. 



In the Appenuine range a large number of localities may be specified 

 where stalactitic and stalagmitic marbles of great variety and beauty 

 are to be found. Special mention must be made of the stone known as 

 alahastro del Gazzo, from the fact of its coming from Monte Gazzo, at 

 San Giovanni Battista, province of Genoa, overlooking the Mediter- 

 ranean Sea. The cave is in a Triassic limestone. The stone is described 

 by Chevalier Jervis as a beautiful and gorgeous material, and as hav- 

 ing been largely used in former centuries for internal decoration in the 

 churches of Genoa. A great number of stalactites from the same part 

 of Ligaria were employed with wonderfully artistic effect in making 

 the artificial cave in the celebrated gardens of the Marquis Pallaricini, 

 at Pegli, near Genoa. In the province of Siena there is a cavern in 

 Liassian limestone whence large masses of cave marl>le have been pro- 

 cured for decorative purposes, while at Castelnuova dell' Abbate, in 

 the commune of Monte Alcino, considerable quantities are found under- 

 lying a Qnateuary travertine. Stones of this same class are found 

 also at Terracina, province of Rome, and at Gesualdo (principato 

 Utteriore), near the central chain of the southern Appeniiines. This 

 last locahty furnished the architect Vauvitelli 32 monolithic shafts or 

 columns for the royal palace at Caserta. The same stone, togetlier 

 with other marbles, was used by the King of Naples for the internal 

 decoration of the royal palace at Portici, now the higher school of 

 agriculture. 



Miscellaneous localities. — According toD'Orbigny and Geute,* France 

 has an abundance of beautiful "calcareous alabasters*' in grottoes and 

 caves, but the material is less esteemed than that of Italy, whence the 

 commercial supply was largely obtained. 



They also state that a veined, undulated "alabaster" of a beautiful 



* Geologic Appli(iuee anx Arts et a lAgricnlture. 



