The Orobic arabesque (marmo arabescato orobico in Italian) is extracted at Camerata Cornello in Val Brembana, from Triassic rocks (about 225 m years) belonging to the Red Limestone Formation. This is a thin band of a very particular limestone that runs across Val Seriana and Val Brembana, with a maximum thickness of about 50 m. The inimitable peculiarities of Orobic arabesque are its natural colours and designs, unique in the world, originated in a tropical environment similar to today's Bahamas, with clear warm waters and coral reefs stretching as far as the eye can see.
From a petrographic point of view, it is a veined or laminated limestone, distinguished by very special colours due mainly to the presence of iron oxides and hydroxides, dolomite and volcanic ash. Orobic arabesque is extracted in open-air quarries by cutting the mountain side with diamond wire. Within the usable thickness we can differentiate several varieties defined by the predominant colours and design. The varieties currently available are: red, gray, pink and gray-pink Orobic arabesque.
From a technical point of view, Orobic arabesque is unmatched: resistance to compression stresses and bending is high, wear resistance (i.e. stamping) is good; the low absorption coefficient ensures negligible porosity, which results in a low tendency to suffer damage from frost. On the whole, its values indicate that this type of material has very good behaviour and is perfectly compatible with its traditional use for flooring, coatings, work tops, etc, but also in external uses as a rustic surface.
Orobic arabesque is in great demand for flooring and exclusive coatings, especially in large spaces that enhance the beautiful geometric designs in book-match style. This is obtained through a careful processing and elaborate study conducted on each block. Its colours, unique in the world, are highlighted by polishing. However, hand-made cleft finish also brings out the warm tones of the stone and is suitable for outdoors uses in unique creations.