Venetian artisans made use of marble waste from quarries by embedding chips into flooring and then polishing the floor to a smooth finish, according to the Public Art Squad website.
Early terrazzo art featured elaborate patterns or mosaics using different size marble chips and certain rocks to add texture and color.
Decorative terrazzo in buildings emerged in the 1870s with the advent of reinforced concrete. It was used frequently in the decades leading to the 1900s as modern skyscrapers began to emerge.
Much of the terrazzo art was initially limited to interior flooring, such as lobbies and entryways of large buildings, but it gained widespread use as decorative elements in exterior and interior walls.
By the early post-World War II war era, architects, particularly in Australia, employed terrazzo artisans to work on public building projects. Many artists stayed on with the architectural firms, which incorporated elements of terrazzo art in many public projects.