This term is particularly employed to designate a species of geometrical mosaic, found in combination with large slabs of marble, much used on the pavements of medieval Roman churches and even in Renaissance times, as, for instance, on the pavements of the Sistine Chapel and the stanza of the Segnatura.
"Opus alexandrinum" je druga oblika "opusa sectile", kjer se uporablja le malo barve, kot sta bela in črna ali temno zelena na rdeči podlagi ali obratno.