Phrases › At the Museum › Di che materiale è fatta questa scultura?

Di che materiale è fatta questa scultura?

What material is this sculpture made of?

Pronunciation

dee keh mah-teh-RYA-leh eh FAT-tah KWES-tah skool-TOO-rah.

When to use it

When admiring a sculpture and unsure whether it is marble, bronze, terracotta, alabaster, or another material. An important basic question in Italian museums.

What it means

Di che materiale è fatta means what material is it made of (literally 'of what material is it made'). Questa scultura is this sculpture. The material of a sculpture profoundly affects both its creation and its preservation.

Variations

È marmo di Carrara?

Is it Carrara marble?

The most famous Italian marble used by Michelangelo.

È bronzo o terracotta?

Is it bronze or terracotta?

Common confusion between dark-coloured sculptures.

Come veniva lavorato questo materiale?

How was this material worked?

Asking about the sculpting technique.

Mini Dialogue

— Di che materiale è fatta questa scultura? — È marmo bianco di Carrara. — Lo stesso usato da Michelangelo? — Esattamente. Le cave di Carrara in Toscana producono da duemila anni. — Si capisce perché lo preferivano — è quasi traslucido. — Sì, la luce penetra leggermente nella superficie.

— What material is this sculpture made of? — It is white Carrara marble. — The same used by Michelangelo? — Exactly. The Carrara quarries in Tuscany have been producing for two thousand years. — You can see why they preferred it — it is almost translucent. — Yes, light penetrates slightly into the surface.

Cultural Note

Michelangelo famously chose his own marble blocks at Carrara, sometimes spending months selecting exactly the right stone. He believed the sculpture was already inside the marble and his task was to liberate it. Carrara marble is still quarried and exported worldwide today.

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