Noble mountains

“This rock does not melt nor fizz!” exclaimed the surprised geologist De Dolomieu (1750-1801) seeing that the samples collected in Brennero (Fleres Valley) and in Salorno (Bolzano province) - although they were similar the calcite - did not react with the chlorhydric acid. There was the smell of a discovery! He sudden sent the samples to the Swiss chemist De Saussure for a chemical analysis. The result was prompt: CaMg(CO3)2, a new mineral with a new name: dolomite, and the same name was given to the mountains, in memory of the marquis-scientist De Dolomieu.