TM
Fine
Masonry and Landscape Stone
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TM
Fine
Masonry and Landscape Stone
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Masonry Styles in Tuscany, Italy
Tuscany, like many other parts of Italy, has some of the most beautiful stone buildings in the world. Tuscan styles of masonry have become popular recently in the United States. The stone buildings in Tuscany were constructed over many centuries with many different kinds of stone, often with stone reclaimed from previous structures. Although there is no single Tuscan style of masonry, many elements are common in buildings throughout the region. The most common types of stone used in Tuscany are limestones and sandstones that were quarried in the hills of the Tuscan countryside.
Buildings
for the wealthier residents were more commonly built from limestones
dressed into rectangular blocks, particularly if these walls were to be sturdy
enough to provide protection during the repeated invasions of central Italy over
the centuries. Country villas, away from the protected main cities such as Siena and Florence, commonly
have a variety of irregular
stone in the
walls, although they usually have large rectangular quoins in the corners.
Another common feature is the use of large terra cotta bricks, both in window
and door surrounds and also mixed almost randomly into the wall. Click the thumbnails below to see a variety of Tuscan masonry styles ...  A country villa near
Siena.
A close-up view of the corner quoins of the villa shown above.
Corner work in a building outside Siena. Quoins in a rubble wall.
A building near Radda in Chianti.
A close-up view of the doorway in the image shown above.
A doorway and wall in Volterra. A
more recently built window surround with terra cotta brick. Beautifully worn corner blocks in
Volterra.
Beautifully cut corner stones in the wall surrounding Volterra. |
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