Despite starting construction in 1390, the Basilica di San Petronio at the heart of Bologna, Italy, remains incomplete, its facade only half-covered in marble. This landmark gains new symbolic meaning each September when the Emilia-Romagna region’s capital hosts Cersaie, an annual showcase of porcelain and ceramic tiles where Italian manufacturers unveil ever more realistic marble imitations.
At the exhibition fairgrounds last fall, it was easy to imagine a day where the upper half of Bologna’s central basilica could be convincingly finished in a stone-look product. Sure, many would decry this as sacrilege. But it’s a
