Preliminary notes for the inclusion of stone from Apulia Region in the Global Heritage Stone Resource list

Heritage Stone Task Group is a task group established by the International Union of Geological Sciences in 2011 on the base of an earlier project within Commission (C-10) - Building Stones and Ornamental Rocks of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment. The specific objective of HSTG is to facilitate formal designation of natural stones that have achieved widespread recognition in human culture. This is aimed at creating the “Global Heritage Stone Resource” (GHSR) as a term for this designation to promote the adoption and use of the GHSR designation by international and national authorities. In Apulia region there are several kinds of stones historically used for manifold buildings and architectural purposes that still today are used for the same purposes, which can be candidate to be included in the list. This work presents a preliminary collection of information for the proposal of inclusion in this list of three stones from Apulia Region: Trani limestone, Lecce Sandstone and Gravina Calcareuious sandstone. Trani stone is a white compact Cretaceous limestone quarried in a large area close to the town of Trani. Several different kinds of limestones outcropping in that area are classified as Trani stone. These limestones were used to build many Romanic Cathedrals of Apulia, like Trani Cathedral, and also castles like the famous Castel del Monte built by Fredric II. Lecce sandstone is a quite homogeneous and compact Miocenic sandstone, with calcites cement and the presence of dispersion of clay minerals. It generally has a light-colored or pale yellow with pink veins and is quarried in large open quarries throughout the Salento peninsula in south Apulia. It is a relatively weak rock, easily workable, largely used for architecture and decorative purposes. It was the base material of famous monuments and decoration of Lecce Baroque in the XVIII century, including the Santa Croce Church. Gravina calcareous sandstone (Upper Pleistocene) largely outcrops along the border of Murge calcareous horst. It has been used for several historical ancient building in Matera and in several other places of Apulia region. It is the geological formation hosting the main rupestrian settlements of Apulia and also the grottoes of the ancient part of Matera town (south Italy): Sassi, part of UNESCO Human Heritage.