Travertine, a sedimentary rock, evolves from precipitation of carbonate minerals. When water rich in carbon dioxide permeates through limestone formations, the limestone is dissolved and becomes saturated. Where this occurs around a change in temperature the carbon dioxide is released as a gas. Re-crystallisation then occurs along with other debris such as algae and moss.

The rock is often full of cavities and remains quite porous. Extremely porous travertine is known as "Calcareous Tuff". Purest travertine is white but most is yellowy brown due to impurities other than carbonate minerals.

The Naming of Travertine

Travertine deposits were discovered in Italy near a town called Tivoli. The name Travertine was taken from the Latin name for Tivoli stone and has been altered over the centuries to become Travertine.

Travertine occurs around lakes, valleys and other natural water sources often causing travertine cascades that take thousands of years to evolve. Travertine was a very important building material throughout the middle ages.

The Use of Travertine in Construction

Travertine has been used in many well known buildings such as the Colosseum in Rome, The Getty Centre in California and the Sacre Coeur in Paris to name just a few. All of this travertine was mined and imported from Tivoli. The stone was used most widely in construction throughout Greece, Turkey and Italy. Nowadays it is imported into the UK extensively and used as a flooring material. Travertine is sometimes known incorrectly as travertine limestone or travertine marble.
Travertine lends itself perfectly to garden paths and patios. The stone can be identified by troughs and pitting on its surface that are sometimes filled and polished depending on the requirements of the finished stone. Smooth, shiny travertine is often used to make stone floor tiles. Travertine tiles vary in colour from a coral red to a more natural grey.

Travertine is often used now as a facade or cladding to modern buildings, chosen for its marble like appearance and its association with well known public architecture, expressing qualities of permanence, warmth and craftmanship.

In the United States there are a small number of producers trying to meet the three quarter of a million tonnes demand which is mostly met by imports. Most of these imports come from Turkey and Italy.