Aurisina Stone

Aurisina/Nabrežina Stone is one of the most historically significant building stones of the Karst region and has played an important role in European architecture for over two millennia. Its long quarrying tradition enabled large-scale production and long-distance distribution, supplying construction and decorative materials for monumental architecture far beyond the Karst itself. Quarrying became systematic during the Roman period in the area of Aurisina/Nabrežina, within the territory of Aquileia, from where the stone supplied important civic and monumental construction projects across present northern Italy, western Slovenia, and northwestern Croatia.
Its historical importance is reflected in monuments now included within UNESCO World Heritage Sites, like the Roman city of Aquileia and the Mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna (6th century CE), where the Aurisina/Nabrezina Stone is present.

A major phase of expansion occurred in the 19th century with the construction of the Southern Railway (1857), which enabled large-scale export across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The stone was widely used in monumental architecture in cities such as Vienna and Budapest, whose historic centres are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

This long-standing quarrying tradition profoundly shaped the regional economy and communities, while leaving a lasting mark in the landscape.
Today, active quarries in Aurisina supply a global market, contributing to prestigious projects and sustaining a millennia-old tradition of Karst stoneworking.