Ornamental stones in monuments: a guide for the characterisation and evaluation

The study of stone materials used for building monuments needs several surveys and charac-terisations, as studies of historical and actual environmental conditions, of material properties and of their level of deterioration. The exploitation area must be localised and the petrographic properties must be stated. The quantitative characterisation of variability of meaningful properties is essential as well as the study of re-lationships between the structures of the materials and the properties required by the specific uses. The study of some historical sites of Minas Gerais (Brazil) and of Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) allowed developing an analysis of the stone conservation, both at the time when they were used and now. Some remarks on the use of such materials in actual architectonic projects have been madeas well.