Botticino (natural stone)

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The 24-ton Rütli group of James Vibert in the Federal Palace in Bern Botticino
The new cathedral in Brescia is made of Botticino

Botticino is a light-colored limestone that is quarried in numerous quarries in Lombardy near Brescia . The rock is named after the town of Botticino in the Italian province of Brescia , which is about 8 km from Brescia. This natural stone is broken in the towns of Botticino, Nuvolento , Nuvolera and Rezzato e Serle . It originated in the Lias 180 million years ago.

Emergence

In the Jura there was a shallow sea in the southern Alpine region. Lime sludge and clays were deposited in this sea basin, which solidified into limestone over the course of millions of years. The rock came to the surface of the earth through uplifts and subsidence of the Botticino massif. The former shrinkage cracks and cavities in this rock were filled with calcite and in the diagenesis , which consists of the two processes of compaction and cementation, the clay was pressed into jagged layers, the stylolites . Today this natural stone is quarried in more than 30 quarries.

Rock description

The fine-grained beige to light brown natural stone is structured by the brown tone veins. Typical of the Italian Botticino is a flaky structure that is created by so-called bark grains ( endolithic formations). Botticino is traded worldwide as Botticion Classico (Italian: classico = classic) or Botticino Fiorito (Italian: fiorito = flowered). The Botticino Semiclassico (Italian: semiclassico = semi-classic) is a special sort that has neither styolites nor bark grains. There are also other rocks from Italy and also from China and other countries that are offered with the name Botticino. Due to this naming problem , a consortium of local stonemason companies came together and had the trade name Botticono Classico Marble protected on May 17, 2005 as the first brand for natural stone worldwide. In Botticino there is a "Museo del Marmo" ( marble museum ) about the history of Botticino.

use

In the area around Botticino 180,000 tons of natural stone are extracted annually and it ranks second in stone extraction in Italy after the Carrara marble quarry area . Botticino can be polished, is not acid and frost resistant. Botticino is used for floor and stair coverings, interior wall cladding and window sills in the interior and sculptors use it to make sculptures for both secular and sacred buildings. This natural stone is weatherproof as long as it is not exposed to frost. Botticino has recently also been used in bathrooms as a bathtub and washstand. In Italy, this natural stone is also used for the construction of external facade cladding.

Botticino is also often referred to as marble in the usual trade because it can be polished. As with all limestone, the polish is not permanent when exposed to the elements.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Karlfried Fuchs: Natural stones from all over the world, discover, determine, use. Sheet 155. Vol. 2. Munich (Callwey) 1997, ISBN 3-7667-1267-5
  2. ^ Friedrich Müller: INSK compact. The international natural stone index for the current market. Sheet 7.1. Volume II. 1st edition. Ebner Verlag Ulm 1997
  3. ↑ Trademark protection on www.marmo-botticino.it . Retrieved January 1, 2010
  4. ↑ Botticino on www.marmo-botticino.it . Retrieved January 1, 2010

Coordinates: 45 ° 32 ′ 41 ″  N , 10 ° 20 ′ 36.4 ″  E