Chrome-bearing spinels in 21 ultramafic nodules contained in a basanite from San Giovanni Ilarione (SGI), Veneto Region, Italy, have been grouped from a textural and chemical standpoint into five types: (1) Interstitial, surrounded by silicates, homogeneous, with a Cr/(Cr + Al) ratio averaging 0.11; (2) Within alteration pods and veinlets, in contact with either silicates or alteration products, showing zonation with Mg/(Mg + Fe2+), Cr, and Ti increasing and Al decreasing from core to rim; (3) In contact with the basalt or surrounded by basalt but distinct from ground-mass grains. The former are strongly zoned while the latter, referred to as xenocrysts, are relatively homogeneous. Both belong to a trend distinct from that of (2); (4) Symplectic, intergrown with pyroxenes and homogeneous, or in contact with plagioclase and/or reaction products and showing more variable composition than the former. Both are generally richer in Cr than all other spinet types and define a trend parallel to and with higher Cr/(Cr + Al) and Cr values than that of (3); and (5) groundmass grains within the host basalt, showing lower Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) and Cr/(Cr + Al), and higher Fe values than for all other, types. Group 1 spinels and the cores of group 2 and group 3 spinets display very similar compositions, suggesting a common origin, modified by later events such as partial melting, solid-liquid reactions, and subsolidus reactions which occurred prior to, during, and subsequent to interaction with the host basalt. Group 2 and 3 spinels define trends diverging from a common composition—i.e., the same origin. Group 4 spinels are probably due to exsolution which occurred after formation of the original spinels, while group 5 spinels are not directly related to types 1–4.