Travertine

Summary

Travertine is a freshwater limestone that precipitates from spring and groundwater, with a banded, porous texture, cut as dimension stone for floors, paving, cladding, and spa surfaces. Its porosity and voids differ between deposits, so specify the finish and any filling together with the ASTM C1527 requirements.

Cols

Image

Thermogene travertine: deposits from hot springs
Meteogene travertine: cave deposits formed through soil-derived carbon dioxide
Tufa: the porous, softer freshwater limestone related to travertine
Dense travertine: compact material that polishes well for decorative use

History and demand

First uses in construction

Romans mined travertine for temples, monuments, aqueducts, bath complexes, and amphitheaters
The Colosseum, begun about AD 70 to 72 and completed in AD 80, is described as the largest building in the world constructed mostly of travertine; its outer wall is estimated to have needed over 100,000 m3 of travertine, set without mortar and held with about 300 tons of iron clamps
Travertine from Tivoli has been quarried for at least 2,000 years

Sourcing

Italy: Tivoli, about 25 km east of Rome, and Guidonia; Italy held a near-monopoly until the 1980s
Turkey is now a major source, and Mexico, China, Peru, and Spain are significant producers
United States: a quarry west of Belen, New Mexico, supplied the State Capitol rotunda and University of New Mexico buildings
US imports in 2019 were 17,808 metric tons, of which 12,804 came from Turkey (Wikipedia)

Demand trend

Imports are dominated by Turkey; the 2019 US import figure above is the only dated demand figure found in the sources checked

Grades and types

By origin: thermogene (hot-spring) and meteogene (cave) deposits
By texture: dense, banded or fibrous travertine versus porous tufa
By color: white, tan, cream, and rusty, with brown to yellow tones from impurities

Properties

Physical

Porosity: fresh travertine about 10 to 70 percent; hot-spring travertine averages about 26 percent
Workability: relatively easy to work and typically lacks planes of weakness; dense stone polishes well

Thermal and moisture

Porosity gives thermal and acoustic insulation and makes the stone light for its strength

Standards

Material specifications

ASTM C1527: travertine dimension stone
ASTM C503: marble dimension stone, which has a class for travertine

Test methods

ASTM C97: absorption and density
ASTM C170: compressive strength

Uses in buildings

Building elements

Wall Cladding: facade and panel cladding, including spa walls and ceilings
Site Paving: patios and paving

Pros and cons

Pros

Light for its strength
Easy to work and polish when dense
Warm colors and banded pattern

Cons

Porous, with voids that may be filled
Properties vary between deposits
Imports depend on a few countries

Manufacturing and cost

Main manufacturers and suppliers

Polycor

Trade association: Natural Stone Institute.

Sources

Wikipedia: Travertine, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travertine
Wikipedia: Colosseum, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum
USGS: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, stone (dimension), https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-stone-dimension.pdf
iTeh Standards: ASTM C503 marble dimension stone, https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/astm/cc7a32d4-6083-433e-a9e6-aa265845ad15/astm-c503-03
Image: The Travertine terraces of Pamukkale.jpg, Slyronit, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Travertine_terraces_of_Pamukkale.jpg