|
 |
 |
|
SAN GERMANO |
SAN GOTTARDO |
Soft stones like "S. Gottardo" and
"San Germano" are quarried in the mining area of the Colli Berici near
Vicenza. These fairly well-known stones have been used by innumerable
artists and architects throughout the centuries. The most famous of all
was Palladio (XVI century), who used it extensively in building his
monumental palaces and Veneto Villas.
The Colli Berici hills are composed of Secondary and Tertiary
formations. The former is meagerly represented by more recent layers
from the cretaceous period, while the latter, especially the Eocene
and Oligocene formations, are a great deal more extensive.
The Pietra di San Gottardo is a whitish limestone tending to straw-
yellow due to minimal traces of clay, attributable to the Oligocene
Era. This is a pure biospartic limestone, rich in micro- and
macro-foraminifers with algae, bryozoan, and echinoid remains
distributed in a uniform manner. Its grain is heterogeneous and
consists of a fairly fine carbonate matrix incorporating more or less
plentiful and coarse fossil remains. When the rock is newly quarried
it is slightly water-logged, making it softer and easier to work and
thus suitable for sculpturing purposes. With time the stone loses its
water, hardening and becoming more resistant to decay.
The Pietra Dorata (or yellow stone) is a biomicrite rich in
foraminifers and is heterogeneous in its structure and composition. It
has a pelitic component in its insoluble residue consisting primarily
of montmorillonoids and K-feldspar, from which it takes its yellow
pigment.
|
Imaging
Technology
