The serena stone of Firenzuola, extracted in the quarries of the homonymous municipality, is considered synonymous with prestige and elegance. This stone is the symbol of the Florentine Renaissance. It has been used by famous people such as Michelangelo or Brunelleschi for the construction of the Dome of the Florence (Santa Maria del Fiore). In particular, Brunelleschi has made the serena stone the protagonist of the new architecture. As a result, around 1350 the architects and sculptors began to use the serena stone of Firenzuola to realize their works.

This type of stone is often used for renovations of historic buildings, for urban furniture, for sculptures.

HISTORY

Firenzuola can be considered the city of the serena stone. The extraction of this material has become increasingly important over the centuries, becoming one of the most important activities of the culture and economy of the place. Today, almost all of the production of this stone comes from the quarries of Firenzuola. The serena stone of Firenzuola has reached its maximum importance going beyond the boundaries of the territory for the realization of architectural or artistic works.

FEATURES

The serena stone, also known as sedimentary stone, is a very versatile material. It is characterized above all by its workability and suitability for every type of work. It can be used both indoors and outdoors because its coloring creates a play of harmonic light and at the same time provides a classic and precious tone. The granules composing this material are held together by a cement composed of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite, aragonite or, less common, iron oxide or silica. In particular, the serena stone of Firenzuola is among the few stones that maintains a chromatic constancy given the purity of the material but above all the low contamination from other elements.
The typical color of the serena stone of Firenzuola, which differentiates it from the others, is gray-blue. The differences between the serena stone of Firenzuola and a stone from another place can be almost indistinguishable from the eye of an inexperienced person, but well recognizable from a geological and petrographic point of view.
The preferential cutting direction used for the Firenzuola stone blocks is horizontal.

SERENA STONE OF FIRENZUOLA WITHIN THE APPLE SHOPS

The serena stone of Firenzuola has become an inspiration for many artists and is used for the most varied uses. 
In 2002 the founder of Apple decided that from that moment on all Apple stores around the world should replace the wood floor with the serena stone of Firenzuola.
This decision was taken by Steve Jobs himself after a trip to Italy where he was struck by the beauty of the serena stone used in the sidewalks of the city of Florence.

SERENA STONE MUSEUM

To discover more about the tradition linked to the working of the pietra serena it is necessary to go to the Serena Stone Museum which was built inside the Rocca, today also the Town Hall, located in Piazza Don Stefano Casini in the center of Firenzuola.

In addition, every year in October a “Dal Bosco e dalla Pietra” market exhibition is held in Firenzuola, which proposes handmade creations and works made with serena stone.