Scagliola facts for kids
Scagliola (say: skah-LYOH-lah) is a special way to make fake marble. It comes from the Italian word scaglia, which means "chips." It is a decorative material used in buildings.
People use scagliola to make columns, statues, and other parts of buildings look fancy. It became popular in the 1600s in a part of Italy called Tuscany.
What is Scagliola Made Of?
Scagliola is a mix of different things. It is made from a mineral called selenite, glue, and natural colors (called pigments). This mix helps it look like real marble or other hard stones.
How is Scagliola Made?
Workers can add different colors to the material to make it look like marble veins. They can also carve patterns into a scagliola surface. Then, they fill these carved patterns with the colored mix.
After the patterns are filled, the whole piece is polished. They use flax oil to make it shiny and wax to protect it. This process gives scagliola very rich colors. These colors are often hard to get with natural marble.
Images for kids
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A scagliola table top from Florence, made around 1737. It shows the family symbols of Fane and Stanhope.
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Scagliola inside the Allen County Courthouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
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Scagliola work on an altar at the Certosa di Padula in Italy.
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Scagliola inside the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers near Bad Staffelstein, Germany.
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Scagliola inside the St. Lorenz Basilica in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany.
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More scagliola in the Allen County Courthouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
See also
In Spanish: Escayola para niños
