Three generations,
one marble
GS Marmi comes from a family that has lived Portoro for more than a century: from the quarry on Mount Castellana to the most exclusive projects in the world.
The family quarry
The Santella family has worked in marble since 1922, quarrying and trading Portoro. The grandfather owned a quarry on Mount Castellana, in La Spezia, and from there went on producing and selling his marble directly all over the world.
From him Giovanni Santella inherited his knowledge of the stone: how to read a block, how to recognise the sepia-black ground that makes Portoro precious, how to follow a slab all the way to installation.
Following the production process, the processing and finally the installation in a luxury project is what I love about my work.
From Rome to Versailles
Portoro appears in the imperial villas of ancient Rome, in Renaissance buildings, in Roman churches and in the European palaces of the nineteenth century, in Switzerland, Belgium and France, all the way to Versailles.
Beyond the golden veins, what matters is the colour of the ground, which must be as dark as possible, up to the so-called sepia black. It is the hallmark of all GS Marmi material, and it changes the effect of the stone once polished and installed.
Its value also comes from its rarity: Portoro surfaces only in the area of Portovenere, in Liguria.
How to recognise the most precious Portoro
The ground
A deep, even and constant black, without white streaks. The darker it is, the more precious the slab.
The gold
Uninterrupted golden veins, well distributed over the entire surface, with no empty areas.
The light
When a ray of light hits the slab, new golden veins appear: the marble never looks the same twice.
Demand for it has never fluctuated: Portoro is a timeless material, chosen for walls and floors of luxury residences, hotels and villas, especially bathrooms and reception rooms.
From quarry to project
Project analysis
We study the project with the client to choose the most suitable material and keep waste and on-site cuts to a minimum.
Quarry inspection
We are at the quarry to follow every stage of extraction and select the best blocks for each project.
Material selection
Once the blocks are chosen, we cut them into slabs or other thicknesses, grading the quality of the Portoro.
Portoro must be seen in person
We welcome you at our showroom, or on a WhatsApp video call in front of the available slabs. Together we choose the right ones for your home.
