Granites of the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola District (Piedmont, Northern Italy): Possible Candidates for the Designation of “Global Heritage Stone Province” and a Proposal of a Geotouristic Route

The Verbano-Cusio-Ossola quarrying district (Piedmont, northern Italy) produces many different ornamental stones, one of the most important represented by “granite”, available in different colours and textures (e.g. “Rosa Baveno” and “Bianco Montorfano”). These late-Variscan granites crop out in the southern Verbano area, and their extraction dates back at least to the XV century. The diffusion of these granites is on a global scale, but there are excellent examples of local and regional use in churches and buildings. The quarrying and processing techniques have evolved and specialized over time, leading to the development of highly skilled workers. Currently the quarrying activity is somewhat reduced. However the area is an excellent example both for the recovery of waste materials and for the immense historical and artistic heritage, the result of hundreds of years of activity. Over 5 centuries of quarrying and building activities have left an important historical and artistic legacy, which could be the subject of geotouristic routes. In order to reach this goal, a greater sensibility is needed towards the historical and cultural significance of the stones (knowledge of the geological, petrographical, physical—mechanical data of the different materials).