

SERPENTINES OF ITALY. 289 



Kamezzo, north-west of Genoa, the serpentine rests on limestone and 

 talc schist, the limestone is in thin tortuous beds, and is as it were 

 dissolved with the shining slate and steatite-schist. The direction of 

 the serpentinous masses in the Northern Apennines, to which the 

 elevation of that part of the range is ascribed, is east- south- east, 

 which is the same as that of the Pyrenees, and of some serpentine 

 rocks about Como. 



Serpentines of the Riviera. West of Genoa several examples 

 of dull-green serpentine are seen on the shore on both sides of Pegli. 

 Several neighbouring headlands consist of gabbro, and both rocks, 

 according to Professor Bonney, closely resemble those of Cornwall. 

 Fragments of serpentine are brought down to the shore above Pegli 

 by the Yarenna Torrent, some full of crystals of bronzite, like the 

 serpentine of Cadgwith in Cornwall. Serpentine forms the coast 

 from Framura for several miles as far as Bonasola. It shows a sub- 

 spheroidal structure, and is sometimes a rusty red, sometimes greenish. 

 At Levanto, where the rock is quarried, one variety is purplish or 

 brownish-black, veined here and there with dull green, and with 

 crystals of bronzite. In other places it is lighter and greener. A 

 gabbro, consisting of sassurite and diallage, here as elsewhere, is 

 associated with the serpentine, and has an intrusive aspect. 



Serpentines of Tuscany. The celebrated Verde di Prato occurs 

 at the village of Figline, about three miles from Prato, in the Lower 

 Arno. This serpentine is of a purplish or greenish brown, and forms 

 a large mass on the upper part of the hill. Through the ground mass 

 are scattered small green crystals of enstatite and films of white 

 steatite. The serpentine is intrusive, according to Professor Bonney, 

 and he states that gabbro penetrates into the serpentine. As in BO 

 many other localities, microscopic evidence leads to the conclusion 

 that these serpentines are altered olivine rock. 1 



Serpentines South-east of Leghorn. Mr. Hamilton described 

 the serpentine in the western part of Tuscany, S.E. of Leghorn. 

 It extends from the copper mines of La Cava, and along the hills 

 running from Monte Catini to Castellina. At Monte Rufoli it covers 

 an area of many miles. At Monte Catini it is soft and soapy, of a 

 grey-green colour. The copper ore lies between the serpentine and 

 the red gabbro. The serpentine masses strike from N.W. to S.E., 

 which is parallel to the axis of the Apennines. Veins of steatite, 

 known as Pietra di Sarto, frequently occur in the serpentine, so as to 

 have a commercial value. At Monte Eufoli the serpentine is covered 

 with forests of ilex. Here occur the famous chalcedony quarries, 

 which resemble quartz veins, but only extend a few feet below the 

 surface. The serpentine around them is soft and decomposed. Ser- 

 pentine is well exposed at Sibbiano, and at the village of L'Impruneta, 

 where it often contains red veins. It is everywhere associated with 

 the red gabbro. 



1 Bonney, Geol. Mag., Aug. 1879, p. 362. 



VOL. I. 



