Description
Kyanite is a very interesting species. Especially in Europe it is more often called Disthene which is a "historic" moniker pointing to the two different values for the Mohs hardness depending on the direction: softer parallel to the prism faces (5 1/2), harder perpendicular to the prism (7). It is very common in alpine-type high metamorphic rocks just like this specimen from the Sponda Alp. The characteristic blue color is amazing, a great contrast to the whitish-gray matrix of feldspar and mica.
This is a top specimen for this alpine locality.