In the late afternoon the pinkish, alabaster light is so fragile it feels as if it could shatter.

BBC: The Swiss train tourists don��t take

Already the moon had risen, a flake of waxy alabaster in a blue sky thin with light.

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Finally, housed in ancient, arched basement tunnels, is the Museo Archeologico containing a vast collection of pieces found near Siena, including elaborate Etruscan alabaster funerary urns and gold Roman coins.

BBC: Two days in Siena, Italy