| Venetian plaster is enjoying a popular revival with the | | | | architecture. At the time, transporting sand around the |
| modern renaissance of Italian wall finishes. These | | | | lagoon was difficult and expensive, there was also an |
| finishes while new to some, possess a lineage dating | | | | abundance of waste terra cotta from the brick |
| back thousands of years to the early civilizations of | | | | industry and recycling of old roof tiles. So plaster |
| Mesopotamia. Unrefined clay plasters were replaced | | | | renders were made instead with ground terra cotta |
| with a mixture of raw lime and crushed limestone. | | | | and hydraulic lime to make a highly breathable surface |
| These plasters were sometimes painted with lime | | | | well suited to the damp atmosphere of the lagoon |
| paints or indeed used as a base for more elaborate | | | | area.There was also a great deal of stone and marble |
| frescoes. | | | | waste, this was then ground, combined with lime to |
| From the remains of the Roman villas of Pompei and | | | | create fine plaster finishes or Marmorino. These were |
| other excavated buildings of the time, we can see | | | | often left white to mimic the stone of Istria (modern |
| how the use of these plasters had spread and | | | | day Croatia) which was favoured by Venetian builders, |
| changed. The Romans knew the benefits of using | | | | or painted with frescoes to mimic more exotic marble. |
| burnt lime which was than was then slaked (properly | | | | Another favorable outcome for the sinking city, was |
| mixed with water) and then left to age so as to | | | | that the weight of the Marmorino was considerably |
| improve workability. Much of their techniques has been | | | | less than the classic Roman style of using slab pieces |
| learned from the writings of Marcus Vitruvius in "De | | | | of stone or marble. |
| Architecture". Unearthed in the 15th century it | | | | Interest in Venetian plaster diminished from the late |
| documents the building and architectural practices of | | | | 19th century until the more recently with their use by |
| Rome 1BC. Walls were plastered with 3 coats of a | | | | renown architect Carlo Scarpa in the 1950's, 60's and |
| sand and lime mixture followed by 3 coat of a fine | | | | 70's. At the moment there is a worldwide resurgence |
| marble dust and lime mix to make a smooth polished | | | | of Venetian plasters being used internally and |
| finish. Whilst the plaster was wet, colours were then | | | | externally on public buildings, new offices, shops, hotels, |
| introduced to provide a strong, easy to clean | | | | and private residences. Whilst some plasters are now |
| decorative surface. | | | | made with synthetic acrylic resins. Many still hold true |
| It was the rediscovery of these practices that gave | | | | to the original recipe of lime and marble powder, with |
| way to their widespread use in 15th century Venice. | | | | the inclusion of adhesives so as to be used on modern |
| The lagoon area of Venice had an abundance of | | | | building surfaces such as drywall. |
| wealth and a newly found appetite for classical | | | | |