Paesine/ Pietra Paesina

“Pietra Paesina”, its literal translation, "landscape stone", has been collected for hundreds of years (since 1465AD) throughout Europe where it was highly regarded for its rarity as a precious ornament and was very much sought after and in demand in the Royal Courts. The name refers to its unusual colors and designs. The beautiful patterns are created when the earth's movement causes fractures in the stone. It is a silty limestone, found randomly in Tuscany, Italy that was formed in sea beds during the Eocene epoch period, about 53 to 39 million years ago.

It is a sedimentary stone mainly made of compressed limestone and clay that was formed in sea beds with infiltrations of iron and manganese hydroxide which create the different colors with light grey from the limestone, reddish-brown from iron oxides and manganese provides black and blue for the clay. You may even find crystalline or calcite inclusions and dendrite patterns if you are lucky. The best quality, color and patterned Paesina Stone comes only from the hills around the city of Florence, and in the Rock and Mineral World is sometimes referred to as "Pietra di Firenze"(Florence stone).

This is a highly sought after, but rarely found stone for jewelry, furniture inlay and decorator drawer pulls, architectural accents and it is especially prized by rock and mineral collectors.