Stones and coloured marbles of Liguria in historical monuments

Abstract

. — The presence of a great number ofdifferent lithotypes contributes to the extremelyvariable geological landscape of Liguria: its rocksare one of the main reasons of the natural beauty ofthis region and a mean used by people toeconomically exploit their land and to expressthemselves in art and architecture. Many rock types are locally used, but in Italy andabroad some particular stones («Ardesia», «Pietra diFinale», «Pietra di Promontorio», Mt. Zatta or Mt.Gottero Sandstones) and some coloured marbles(«Rosso Levanto», «Verde Polcevera» and«Portoro») are very known.These materials are today widely used asdecorative tombstones, both indoor and outdoor, ofthe historical buildings and in the localcraftsmanship.R