Travertin Navona

Travertin Navona is a Quaternary freshwater sedimentary travertine (limestone) from the Bagni di Tivoli quarry district east of Rome in the Italian region of Lazio. Travertines formed from hot springs in which dissolved calcium carbonate precipitated as calcite as pressure fell — the characteristic travertine pores derive from trapped gas bubbles. Bagni di Tivoli has been the main production region for Travertino Romano since Roman antiquity. Petrographically a freshwater sedimentary limestone.

The designation 'Navona' is a brand name for the pale grade of Travertino Romano — a trade designation used in parallel with 'Travertino Romano Chiaro' (Italian: pale Roman travertine). The name historically refers most likely to the famous Piazza Navona in Rome, one of the iconic building ensembles that contain Travertino Romano. DNSA lists 'Navona' explicitly as an alias for this travertine type.

In international trade, Travertin Navona also runs under the designations Travertino Navona (Italian spelling variant), Travertino Romano Chiaro (the main Italian designation), Tivoli Light, Roman Travertine Light and occasionally Bagni Travertine. All designations refer to the pale grade of the classic Travertino Romano from Bagni di Tivoli.

The Travertino Romano family comprises several grades by tone: Travertin Navona / Travertino Romano Chiaro (pale creamy ivory tone — the palest classic variant), Travertin Beige / Travertino Romano Classico (medium beige-honey tone — the most widely used standard variant), Travertino Noce (markedly darker, browner tone) and Travertino Silver (silver-grey). All come from the same quarries near Bagni di Tivoli, but differ in the iron oxide colouring of the sedimentary layers.

Typical values for the pale Travertino Romano grade: bulk density 2,440 kg/m³, water absorption 2.0 % unfilled (markedly lower when filled), Mohs hardness 4.5–5. Important: as a limestone, travertine is acid-sensitive — wine, lemon juice, vinegar or bathroom cleaners leave immediate etch marks. Polished external stability is not durable.

Travertine naturally contains characteristic pores — small voids from its original formation in hot springs. When 'filled', these pores are filled with a colour-matched limestone mortar before final finishing — the slab is then entirely smooth. When 'unfilled', the pores remain openly visible as an authentic stylistic element. At ROSSITTIS, Travertin Navona is carried in the more elegant filled variant — easier to maintain and more practical for bathrooms or bar counters.

Suitable with qualifications, and with clear limitations. At a Mohs hardness of 4.5–5, travertine is markedly more sensitive than granite or quartzite — it is not fully cut- and scratch-resistant and it is acid-sensitive. Wine, lemon juice or vinegar leave immediate etch marks. For intensively used professional kitchens we recommend alternative hard stones. For an elegant designer kitchen with a classic Italian feel and careful maintenance, however, Travertin Navona can be very coherent — particularly for Mediterranean schemes.

With a filled surface, not recommended — DNSA classifies polished external stability as non-durable. UV exposure and weathering lead over the years to visible loss of gloss. For external applications with a look similar to Travertin Navona, unfilled travertine surfaces with open pores are rich in tradition (see Travertin Beige C-C unfilled); Travertin Navona as a filled variant is, however, explicitly optimised at ROSSITTIS for interior applications.

The price depends on the batch, thickness, surface finish and fabrication — with natural stone there is no serious flat rate per square metre. Business customers see prices once their B2B account is activated; private customers receive a complete quote through a fabricator near them.