The international vocation of Italy's marble and natural stone supply chain (which exports around three-quarters of its output) is strongly represented by its reference fair, Marmomac, which inaugurated its 57th edition in Verona and was referred to as the "most international ever." In fact, almost 1,500 exhibitors arrived in Venice (up from 1,200 last year), with 68.5% coming from outside, representing 54 nations. And the 50 thousand guests expected through Friday will come from nearly 140 countries. Despite the market cooling in 2023, the Italian stone industry's international sales hold: exports exceeded 1.5 billion in the first half, with a 0.1% increase in value over the same period last year. A testimony to the excellence of Italian enterprises, which have compensated for the decrease in volume sold. So much so that the supply chain (about 3,200 enterprises and 34 thousand employees, with a turnover of 4.5 billion euros in 2022) has a nearly 2.8-billion-euro annual trade surplus. A supply chain that is strongest in the manufacturing districts. The Apuan-Versilian one (Massa Carrara and Versilia), with approximately 110 mining firms and over 600 actives in processing; the Apulian one, with a hundred extractive companies and 700 active in processing; and the Verona and Vicenza one, with 734 companies.