Provenance of marbles used in the Heliocaminus Baths of Hadrian's Villa (Tivoli, Italy)

This paper aims to ascertain the provenance of white and greyish marbles used for decorating the Heliocaminus Baths, one of the most ancient thermal complexes inside the Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli (Italy). Fifteen marble samples have been macroscopically described and investigated by means of mineralogical and petrographic observations of thin sections, XRF chemical analyses of major and some trace elements, and stable isotope ratio analysis of carbon and oxygen. The collected data show that the majority of the marbles analysed come mainly from the Apuan Alps basin (Carrara) and subordinately from several Greek (Mt. Penteli and Paros and Thasos Islands) and Turkish (Afyon and probably Ephesus districts) quarrying areas.