In a Venice apartment designed by Jacques Grange, the primary bathroom is a cocoon of Cremo Tirreno marble. Colorful marble has been having a moment. Designers and homeowners have rediscovered ...

And calacatta is one of the world's most expensive types of marble. It's more than double the price of carrara marble, yet mined in the same mountains. But the key to calacatta's price is its rarity.

During the Renaissance, Carrara marble gained fame through sculptures by artists like Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini and others. Over the past two centuries, however, the process has changed ...