The triassic marble from the punta bianca promontory (La Spezia, Italy). Did Romen quarrying of "lunensis marble" begin here?

A marble body belonging to the Triassic low-grade metamorphic sequence of the «Punta Bianca Unit» outcrops on the coastal cliff of the Punta Bianca promontory (La Spezia, Liguria, Italy). The macroscopic features of this marble are described and its chemical, mineralogical and physical data presented, as resulting from measurements on 25 samples. Punta Bianca marble is easily distinguished from the better-known Jurassic Carrara marble on the basis of the fine grain size of the former (70 urn), the presence of muscovi te flakes and, especially, of winding ankerite veins which take on a characteristic rust colour when altered. A number of architectural elements made of Punta Bianca marble and dating from the first century B.C. to the second century are found at the archaeological site of Luni, about 4 km north-east of Punta Bianca. The possibility that quarrying of Punta Bianca marble began before that of Carrara marble is considered.