The Natural Stone in the Historic Buildings of the City of Granada (Southern Spain). Features as a Possible Candidate for the Designation of “Global Heritage Stone Province”

Abstract

The heritage diversity that exists in the city of Granada in the south of Spain can be seen in the type of rock from which the majority of the emblematic monuments are built, especially since the 15th century. There are three main lithotypes extracted in the province of Granada which are present in most of the heritage buildings in the city centre. These rocks are known as “Santa Pudia” calcarenite (Tortonian), “Sierra Elvira” limestone (Lias) and “Alfacar” travertine (Quaternary). It gives an outstanding aesthetic and ornamental richness to the city. Besides these, there are other lithologies from the province, such as conglomerate from El Turro, marble from Lanjaron, limestone from Loja and serpentinite from Sierra Nevada, which have also been used occasionally. In this paper we show a detailed characterization of these materials, including quarry provenance, main mineralogical and physical characteristics, main uses in different buildings and major deterioration problems that these stones may have. An adequate knowledge of the materials with which the different architectural elements of the city were built, contribute to executing appropriate restoration and contribute to the proper maintenance of the heritage of the city. With this contribution we suggest that the province of Granada should be considered as a “Global Heritage Stone Province”, given that the richness and variety of natural stone used in its monuments is more than proven.