"At Incalmi, everything becomes one." This is the first point of our manifesto, and it describes the experimental process that leads us to the combination of different materials. Indeed, the primary characteristic of our objects is that they are multi-material. We use glass, metals, marble, wood, rattan, leather - the materials of Italian artisanal tradition, which we reinterpret in the light of a contemporary aesthetic. In this series of articles, we explore them one by one. After metals, here is marble.
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Why marble?
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Marble is nothing more than a limestone rock, whose color and appearance depend on the presence of elements such as quartz, graphite, iron and other oxides. There are monochromatic or polychromatic marbles, which are called veined, listate, mottled, floral or dendritic depending on the color distribution. Marble is a material of exceptional durability, as demonstrated by monuments and works of art that are still perfect a few centuries, or millennia, after their creation. Despite its toughness, it is a porous, and therefore workable, material. When polished, it becomes very bright because its surface reflects light.

Incalmi and marble
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Although it is spread all over the world, Italian marble has a prestigious history. The classic Italian marble is that of the Apuan Alps, which has taken the name Carrara marble. But Italy is also home to some of the highest artistic expressions related to marble - just think of the sculptures of Michelangelo or Antonio Canova. One of Italy's main districts for quarrying and processing natural stone is located in the Veneto region, between the areas near Verona of Valpolicella, Lessinia and Valpantena and those of the Vicenza valleys of Chiampo, Agno, Basso Vicentino and Asiago, territories very close geographically to Incalmi.
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Our approach to marble processing
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We approached marble processing in the same way as we approach all the other materials we work with: with the idea of testing the material, no matter if through the most complex route. Together with our partner, a major workshop in the province of Verona, we therefore explored, with marble, the concept of lightness.

Marble made in Incalmi: the example of Nemesi and Nomos lamps
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The intuition was to contradict the nature of the material. Marble is a heavy, statuesque material. In design, marble is generally used in support, if not really as a base. Just think of the iconic Arco lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, whose beauty lies precisely in the contrast between the massive Carrara marble base and the very light steel stem, which creates a dramatic arch. In our Nemesi lamp, it is the suspended element that is made of marble. In fact, the lamp is made of a single piece of black marquina marble, worked on a lathe to house a brass element in the shape of a V. More classic is the design of the Nomos lamp, where marble is used for the wheel base, worked in a stepped pattern inspired by Carlo Scarpa. In this case the difficulty is all in the workmanship, because open-pore travertine is a very fragile material that tends to crumble; on the other hand, it is in putting the material to the test that the soul of Incalmi is expressed.