Architectural Geology of Florence, Part 21: A Visit to the Big House | Pitti Palace (begun in AD 1458; constructed in phases for a long time thereafter), Tuscany, Italy

Facing southwestward and looking at a large portion of the facade of the Palazzo Pitti.

Now at last we're on the southern side of the Arno River. This is the portion of city and suburbs where much of renaissance Florence's building materials were extracted.

And the main exterior stone for the Pitti is about as local as it gets, because it was quarried in what is now the Anfiteatro or Amphitheater section of the Boboli Gardens just behind this massive edifice. It's the Pietraforte Sandstone, of Upper Cretaceous age.

From the standpoint of architectural geology, the Pietraforte is autochthonous. In other words, it's a stone selection that has not been transported a significant distance to be used here. But from the perspective of tectonics and stratigraphy, it is actually allochthonous—a rock unit that has indeed been moved a long way from where it started. The reason for this is that it began as an oceanic turbidite deposit of the External Ligurian Domain, which during the compressional phase of the Oligocene and early Miocene was thrust up and over the Tuscan Nappe to where it's found today.

On this imposing edifice the Pietraforte is present in truly huge quantities, as the massive blocks of rusticated ashlar. But that other great Florentine stone type, the Pietra Serena Sandstone, is here as well, in the balustrades of the palace's higher levels. Its paler, bluish-gray color is the giveaway.

The Pietra Serena, which dates to the Oligocene and Miocene, comes from the Tuscan Nappe itself, another thrust sheet that has been pushed westward from its point of origin. Because of that, the Pietra Serena is, like the Pietraforte, tectonically allochthonous. But since it was quarried fairly locally, in such nearby places as Settignano, it could be said to be architecturally autochthonous. Once again, just like the Pietraforte.

You'll find the other photos and descriptions of this series in my Architectural Geology of Florence album.

Taken in: Italy / Tuscany / Florence / Oltrarno (show map)

Taken on: July 25, 1977

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Camera: MAKER NAME 96660, f/1.8, 1/46 sec, 2.8mm, ISO 50 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	MAKER NAME 96660
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.022 sec (1/46)
Focal Length:	2.8mm
ISO:	50
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Inpaint
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