@carlyschwanz thank you very much for the response. I just wanted to know for sure what I'm getting into, and I guess once I started googling the subject "carrara gioia" quartz threw me off.

No problem! And Marble is an "okay" stone for kitchens, but it isn't the most durable product. For families that cook every night, families with young children, homes that are used for entertaining often, etc. I would probably stay away from a marble. It is gorgeous, yes, but you have to be ready for the upkeep! There are beautiful Quartz options that look just like marble! Quartz is very durable and being used more and more in new homes and remodels.

Check out Zodiaq! http://www.zodiaq.com/-colors-of-zodiaq-r-

where did you find the slab? was it a full slab? did they have an actual name of it? do you remember the price? sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to get an idea for you. Carly is right, quartz is manmade, quartzite is another type of stone, similar to granite, harder than marble. Then there is Dolomite, which is a cousin to marble. that's actually what your slab looks like.

Actual granite&marble store in the area I live. Yes, they had 4 slabs, no name on it, $5500 for 75 squares. I was trying to do my research on it, but like I said some websites are showing it as "quartz" - but if anything it's more like quartzite, unless it's really marble.

I can find only one reference to Carrara Gioia as a quartz and that is a Daltile quartz product that mimics the look of the Italian Marble called Carrara Gioia. I think you can be sure that the slab you are looking at is a marble.

I believe it's this marble: Gioia Venatino. It is a type of Carrara Marble.

http://www.stonesource.com/?stone=gioia-venatino-alta

Thank you everyone for your input :)

I found a similar slab near me that I love - They call it Bianco Gioia - a marble - and they're asking $14 per square foot. Seems like a steal to me!

We installed Bianco Gioia for the first time earlier this year. It scratched inmediately and is so soft a scratch can't be polished out. The installers handed me a piece about 2x2 inches. I could crumble it in my hands. Not a deal if it does not hold up.

A friend of mine was doing her kitchen and found a marble slab she just loved. The dealer told her her if she sealed it well it would be OK for her kitchen. I told her to seal a sample well and then place a wine glass with red wine on the base of the glass on the marble over night. The result was a permanent red circle on her beautiful marble sample. She found a granite slab instead and did the same test. No stain. I recommend the same test for any type of natural stone in a kitchen. P.S. Funny story, I never saw the marble slab she wanted for her kitchen but she asked me to tile her master bath. I told her I knew of a marble that would look great in her master, so I brought her a sample. Guess what? Same marble she wanted in the kitchen.