[Martinite: an alternative to asbestos insulation available since XIX Century]

New findings and technical investigations carried out on the material called Martinite have found that, already at the end of the Nineteenth century, this material, with excellent insulating properties, free from asbestos and other substances harmful to human health, was available on the national and international markets. At the beginning of the Twentieth century, Martinite was used in warships of the Italian Royal Navy and, in 1950, the Italian national naval certification body (UNAV) authorized it to be used on all ships. It also had other uses, including the construction of civil power plants. If properly advertised and distributed, Martinite could have been used all over the world in place of asbestos in different applications, avoiding the catastrophic consequences on the health of thousands of people. The product did not receive the desired commercial development, because of the small size of the company, which could not compete with the large asbestos multinationals. KEYWORDS: asbestos; Martinite; asbestos substitutes; insulation.