Herschelite with Phillipsite

specimen number:
2063304

location:
Rupe di Aci Castello, Aci Castello, Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, Italy

description:
Very choice thumbnail sized example for the species with colorless translucent crystals of well-formed herschelite on matrix with micro phillipsite. In very good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

The Rupe di Aci Castello is a prominent basaltic cliff and volcanic promontory rising out of the Ionian Sea along the eastern coast of Sicily. Formed by submarine basaltic volcanism, submarine lava flows, and pillow lavas during the early magmatic activity of the Etna volcanic complex, this dramatic rock spur later became the foundation for a historic medieval fortress constructed from local lava stone. Beyond its military history as a Norman stronghold, the site is famous in mineralogy as the historical type locality for herschelite, a soda-rich zeolite mineral later reclassified as a sodium-dominant member of the chabazite series. Mineral collectors and scientists have long valued the site because the gas cavities within the dark submarine basalt host excellent micro-crystals of herschelite alongside other zeolites and secondary minerals, making this volcanic outcrop an important location for classical Italian mineralogy.

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