LAMINAM® Vulcano belongs to the Slate collection of the Italian porcelain pioneer Laminam S.p.A. (founded in 2001 in Fiorano Modenese, Italy — the same Emilia-Romagna ceramic region in which ABK Group, Florim, Atlas Concorde and Del Conca Group also produce). Laminam was one of the world's first manufacturers of large-format porcelain slabs and has substantially shaped the porcelain market segment for architecture and interior fit-out.
The Slate collection brings together Laminam's porcelain reproductions of classic slate dimension stones — unlike the I Naturali collection (with its extensive reproduction of various natural stone classes), Slate concentrates on a specific material language: dark, slate-typical split structures with a characteristic layered foliation. Vulcano is one of the most dramatic designs in this collection and takes up the look of black to dark anthracite slate grades.
The design model — slate — is one of the oldest classes of dimension stone in architectural history. Geologically it is a metamorphic sedimentary rock formed from clayey, fine-grained sediment deposits under low to moderate pressure and temperature conditions. The characteristic cleavability — the ability to be split into thin slabs — arises from the parallel alignment of microscopically fine mica flakes under directed tectonic pressure. Classic slate deposits are found in Wales (England), Galicia (Spain), Anjou (France), Vermont (USA), India, China and some Alpine regions. Slate has been used since antiquity for roof coverings and floor surfaces, and since the Renaissance also for wall cladding and architectural accents.
In the slab image, LAMINAM Vulcano presents a dark anthracite to black-grey ground tone that captures the mineral colouring of slate-typical carbonate slates and phyllites. Across the surface runs a finely branching vein network in silver-white and light grey-cream tones — fine, irregularly flowing lines that look like calcite healing zones or quartz veins along the original cleavage fissures. In places the veins condense into more powerful zones, then they continue softly and controlled. The image evokes the finely structured layered foliation of genuine slate materials with their characteristically irregular, natural veining.
It is precisely this combination of a dramatic dark tonality and finely flowing veining that makes Vulcano a compositionally particularly powerful architectural material. In modern living concepts, hospitality and contract architecture, urban living spaces, outdoor kitchens and façade architecture, the material develops a self-assured, urban atmosphere. In combination with warm timber (oak, walnut, ash), Corten steel, brushed brass, concrete and reduced colour palettes, the dark slate look develops a contemporary urban, almost industrial elegance.
Technically it is a fully sintered-through large-format porcelain. Mineral raw materials (natural clays, feldspars, quartzes and pigments) are pressed under high pressure into large-format slabs and sintered at temperatures above 1,200 °C. The result is a chemically non-reactive, almost pore-free ceramic material with water absorption < 0.1 %. The material properties: full UV stability, acid resistance, heat resistance, scratch resistance (Mohs hardness 7–8), frost resistance and food safety.
In direct comparison with genuine slate, the porcelain reproduction offers concrete advantages: no cleavability problems (genuine slate can break at zones of weakness), no open porosity, no sealing cycles, a precisely reproducible look (genuine slate varies strongly from block to block), full acid resistance (some genuine slates are calcareous and acid-sensitive), higher scratch resistance and availability in large format without cleavage lines. Anyone who wants the slate look in a technically consistent, everyday-capable quality is therefore markedly better served by the porcelain reproduction — particularly for intensively used kitchen worktops, external façades and heavily frequented areas.
Laminam produces Vulcano ex works in several large-format classes: 1,000 × 3,000 mm (slim format), 1,200 × 3,000 mm (standard) and the full format 1,620 × 3,240 mm in various thicknesses (3+/5/12+/20 mm). Among the finishes, Laminam carries several treatments — the Slate collection works particularly with the “A Spacco” treatment (riven), which gives the porcelain the authentic slate fracture structure.
At ROSSITTIS we currently carry Vulcano as 15 large-format slabs in 12 mm thickness with the “a spacco” riven surface — the characteristic riven treatment that gives the slate reproduction its tactilely authentic feel. The surface really does feel like a split natural slate with a characteristic fracture edge. On request we produce from it wall cladding, floor tiles, stairs, façade elements, external surfaces, vanity tops, table surfaces, pool surrounds and project-specific special cuts.
The riven surface is particularly valuable for external architecture and stair treads — it delivers high slip resistance and suits rustic-modern architectural concepts. For smoother vanity tops and interior architecture applications, smoother treatments can be realised on request through Laminam fabricators.
For anyone comparing Vulcano with other materials: the stylistic models are genuine black and anthracite slate dimension stones such as Welsh Slate (the Penrhyn quarry in Wales), Galician Slate (Spain), Brazilian Black Slate, Vermont Slate (USA) or Anjou slate (France) — geologically authentic, but with the care and cleavability implications named above. Related natural materials are also dark volcanic rocks (Pietra Lavica, basalt) and dark phyllite grades. Among the porcelain competition, the Florim Slate line, Lioli Porcelain slate designs, Caesarstone Lioli Black Eclipse (a related lava look), the Optimum Surfaces slate ranges and similar designs offer comparable slate reproductions.
Our honest assessment: LAMINAM Vulcano is a decidedly powerful choice for projects that want to set a striking urban or rustic-modern accent with the iconic black slate look — with full porcelain robustness for intensive interior and exterior applications. Anyone seeking geological authenticity and the block-to-block uniqueness of genuine slate materials should reach for genuine Welsh Slate or Galician Slate. But anyone who wants the dramatically dark slate visual concept in an easy-care, heat- and acid-resistant large-format quality — and is planning flexible interior and exterior applications — will find a particularly successful solution here with the tactilely authentic “a spacco” surface.
