Alabastro di Busca

Alabastro di Busca is an extremely precious marble extracted in Busca, a small town near Turin, in the Italian Piedmont region. The quarries are situated in five natural canyons that are about 100 meters (328 Ft) long and 30 meters (98.4 Ft) high.

This precious Alabastro di Busca was first extracted around 1500. In 1620, the quarry belonged to the Prince of Carignan Amadeo of Savoy. The quarry was bought by the state in 1879, before being owned privately again until it definitively closed in 1963.

This Alabastro di Busca was very popular in the Piedmont region and all over Europe, for decorating private houses with furnishings, decorative fireplaces, and especially church altars like that of the Santissima Trinità church of Busca. Alabastro di Busca can also be found in the Superga basilica in Turin and in the crypt of the tombs of Savoy, particularly on the tomb of King Carlo Alberto.

Today, two Alabastro di Busca fireplaces remain on the third floor of the Bonaparte House in Ajaccio. There is one in the room called the “Return from Egypt” room. These two fireplaces (there were originally three) were sent by Joseph Fesch to his sister Letizia in 1797 during a trip to Milan.

The exceptional fireplace in the Meeting Room of Maurice Fenaille 's sanatorium in the Aveyron Department of France was also made of this beautiful marble.