Pavonazzo marble, also known as Pavonazzetto, Docimaean marble or Synnadic marble, "Book 9, chapter 5, section 16" is a whitish marble originally from

Docimium Docimium, Docimia or Docimeium (Greek: and ) was an ancient city of Phrygia, Asia Minor where there were famous marble quarries. The exact site of Docimium was a matter of some dispute until recently; it is now fixed at the modern Turkish town � ...

, or modern

İscehisar İscehisar is a town of Afyonkarahisar Province in the Aegean Region, Turkey, Aegean region of Turkey, on the road between the city of Afyon and Ankara. It is the seat of İscehisar District.

Etymology

The name derives from the Italian word for

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

().

History

Ancient world

Pavonazzetto was not widely or extensively used before the Roman period; there is no evidence of it in circulation before the last two decades BC. The marble has been used in Rome since the Augustan age, when large-scale quarrying began at Docimium, and columns of it were used in the

House of Augustus The House of Augustus, or the ' (not to be confused with the '' Domus Augustana''), is situated on the Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy. A house on the southwestern corner of the Palatine has been identified, though not without dispute, as the primar ...

, as well as in the

Temple of Mars Ultor The Temple of Mars ''Ultar'' was a sanctuary erected in Ancient Rome by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 2 BCE and dedicated to the god Mars in his guise as avenger. The centerpiece of the Forum of Augustus, it was a peripteral style temple, on ...

, which also had pavonazzo floor tiles in the

cella In Classical architecture, a or naos () is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings: of a hermit's or monk's cell, and (since the 17th century) of a biological cell ...

. Pavonazzetto statues of kneeling Phrygian barbarians existed in the

Basilica Aemilia The Basilica Aemilia (), or the Basilica Paulli, was a civil basilica in the Roman Forum. Lucius Aemilius Paullus initiated its construction, but the building was completed by his son, Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, in 34 BCE. Under Augustus, it was ...

and Horti Sallustiani. Giant statue groups carved from Docimaean marble were discovered at Tiberius's Villa in Sperlonga. Docimian Pavonazzetto was extensively used in major building projects both within Rome and the rest of the empire. Pavonazzetto was used on the most eye catching places such as, columns, wall and floor veneer and wall reliefs. Other marbles from all corners of the empire were used in combination; whenever Pavonazzetto was used as floor cover, it was usually in combination with other decorative marbles, however, the Pavonazzetto being a primarily white marble, it gave buildings a freshening white color. Docimian marble was also preferred for

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

sculpting, many emperors preferring this marble for its high value and majestic looks. As a result, some of the greatest masterpieces were made from this material, including the sarcophagi of Eudocia, Heraclius and many more.

Later Use

Docimaean Pavonazzo was later used for the Memoria Petri, the tomb of Saint Peter, in the influential Baroque Revival style historic buildings the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall (; Ulster-Scots: ) is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre. It is a Grad ...

Belfast, Northern Ireland Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

List of buildings with Pavonazzo marble

Buildings in Rome

* The Pantheon contains Docimian Pavonazzetto as floor pavement along with other marble types. The dominant white color is the Pavonazzetto, also some of the interior main columns and pilasters are made from Docimian marble. *

Forum of Augustus The Forum of Augustus (; ) is one of the Imperial fora of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus (). It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, 40 years after they were first vowed. History The ...

Forum of Trajan Trajan's Forum (; ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war fro ...

(floor and 184 column shafts) *

(floor) *

Temple of Apollo Sosianus The Temple of Apollo Sosianus (previously known as the Apollinar and the temple of Apollo Medicus) is a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo in the Campus Martius, next to the Theatre of Marcellus and the Porticus Octaviae, in Rome, Italy. Its presen ...

(floor) *

(20 statues) *

Basilica Julia The Basilica Julia () was a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated. What is left from its classica ...

(floor and some columns) *

Basilica Ulpia The Basilica Ulpia was an ancient Roman civic building located in the Forum of Trajan. The Basilica Ulpia separates the temple from the main courtyard in the Forum of Trajan with the Trajan's Column to the northwest. It was named after Roman em ...

(some of the columns) * Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura (24 columns, destroyed by fire in 1823) * The eight statues on the

Arch of Constantine The Arch of Constantine () is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312 ...

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla () in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of empero ...

(some of the columns and wall veneer) Trajan 04 big

Buildings outside of Rome

* The

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

has Docimian marble as veneer on the aisles and galleries. *

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

, as veneer. *

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by #Names, other names in classical antiquity, antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Established as a Punic people, Puni ...

, former limestone columns were replaced with Pavonazzetto. *

Library of Celsus The Library of Celsus () is an Ancient Roman architecture, ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, today located near the modern town of Selçuk, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. The building was commissioned in the years 110s CE b ...

, the columns on the famous wall. * Ancient City of

Sagalassos Sagalassos (), also known as Selgessos () and Sagallesos (), is an archaeological site in southwestern Turkey, about 100 km north of Antalya (ancient Attaleia) and 30 km from Burdur and Isparta. The ancient ruins of Sagalassos are 7&n ...

, as wall and floor covering, 40 tons of veneer were recovered. * Temple of Zeus and Hera in Greece, 100 columns and wall. Book, 1,18,9

References

{{coord missing, Italy Building materials Types of marble