Probably the most beautiful gold tiles available - Orsoni's 24-carat gold tiles are used in the vaulted ceilings of the Basilica San Marco, Venice. The process for making them is extraordinarily skilful; gold leaf is cold-fused onto a backing of bluey-green glass, around 3.5mm thick. The gold is then topped with a super-fine layer of transparent glass. This layer is made by hand-blowing a football-sized sphere of clear glass. The still-hot and viscous glass is gently coaxed into a long sausage-shaped bubble (known as a sbruffo - Google translate tells me this means a 'snort'!). This is cut open, and its own weight causes it to flatten into a gently-curved sheet. Squares cut from this sheet (and known as cartoline) are then applied on top of the gold-leafed area. Once cool, the piastre are hand cut into smaller tiles.
The tiles are around 3.5mm thick, and measure 2cm x 2cm.
Price is for 10 tiles
PHOTOS: Orsoni/D Caldieraro
