Verona,
where stone and wine tell one story Dawn in Verona smells like espresso and limestone dust. The Arena’s ancient arches glow pink with Rosso Verona, and the hills of Valpolicella exhale the perfume of drying Amarone grapes. For two decades I’ve walked these streets every September, and each year Marmomac reminds me why natural stone is civilization’s first luxury material — and still its most innovative.
A Warmer Design Future
This year, the fair felt both familiar and fresh: craftsmanship at the core, technology & innovation humming in every hall, and design riding a warmer, more tactile mood. Below are my takeaways — what mattered, what’s next, and how Fatemi Stone is translating it for our clients in the U.S.
Why Marmomac remains the stone worlds main stage
∙Scale & reach: 12 halls plus 8 outdoor areas, 1,400 exhibitors, 54 countries represented; the most complete view of the global stone supply chain — from quarries and blocks to final surfaces, tools, chemicals, and intelligent machinery.
∙Depth: Beyond the show floor, the Plus Theatre hosts curated cultural exhibitions, live demos, and the Academy’s CEcredited courses for architects and designers.
2025 Highlights — Tech that’s changing how we work
1) STONE NEXT — Visions of Future Stone
A standout curatorial platform inside Hall 10. Think adaptive reuse, digital craft, and parametric forms executed in stone. My favorite talking points:
∙3Dprinted formwork + stone: research prototypes that reduce waste and enable complex geometries.
∙Robotic milling & 5axis CNC: tighter tolerances, faster iteration, and the kind of repeatable precision that takes stone beyond the classical vocabulary.
∙Designfordisassembly: anchoring systems designed to be removed, recut, and reused.
2) Sustainability with numbers
This year, the conversation moved from claims to measurable impact. A sectorwide Environmental
Product Declaration (EPD) framework is rolling out in Italy, giving designers comparable CO₂ values for stone types and thicknesses. It reinforces a truth I’ve seen projectafterproject: natural stone, specified thoughtfully and maintained properly, is one of the lowestimpact cladding and surface options over a building’s life.
3) Global growth
The debut of Marmomac Brazil earlier this year signals a stronger bridge to the Americas — especially for quartzites and exotics — and more
yearround momentum for the community.
4) Smarter cutting & finishing
∙Multiwire and ultrathin wire saws are now standard for highyield slab production.
∙Waterjet + Hydrofinish treatments create microrelief textures that catch light without gloss —
ideal for slipresistant exteriors and softly matte interiors
Surface finishes — Texture is the new luxury
∙Leathered / spazzolato: softtouch, lowsheen finish that highlights movement while hiding
fingerprints.
∙Flamed + brushed (antiqued): exteriorgrade grip with a velvety hand; great for terraces transitioning
into interior spaces.
∙Bushhammered / chiseled microrelief: architectural shadow play on facades.
∙Hydrofinish (highpressure water texturing): crisp, slipresistant textures that keep the stone’s natural
color.
∙Silkhoned & satin: the sweet spot for kitchens and baths — quietly luminous without mirror glare.
Designer tip: Specify texture families across inside/outside (e.g., interior leathered → exterior
hydrofinish) on the same stone to unify a project while meeting performance requirements.
