Stonemasons at work in the Balma Quarry, at the end of the 19th century. The material was transported on wooden carts (Photo by Fondazione Sella).
Local native name
Year designation
Lithology
Aesthetics
Geological settings
Oligocene Valle Cervo Pluton, belongs to synorogenic alpine magmatic bodies. The age is 30.3 ± 0.5 million years.
Location
Valle Cervo, Piemonte region, Biella (NW Italy).
Stonemasons at work in the Balma Quarry, at the end of the 19th century. The material was transported on wooden carts (Photo by Fondazione Sella).
The stone that has shaped the cultural landscape of the Alps.
The Balma Syenite is one of the most important ornamental stones for the historical economy of the Piemonte region in northwestern Italy. The quarried rock is distinctive for its textural, chromatic, aesthetic, and commercial characteristics. Its violet colour blends well with other shades, and the material is easy to work and sculpt, resistant to mechanical stress, and highly durable even when used outdoors. Its peculiar scientific and ornamental properties were also noted by Quintino Sella, an eminent Italian politician, scientist, and climber from the Biella valleys.
Thanks to its excellent physical and mechanical properties, this rock has long been valued as an ornamental and dimension stone and has been exploited since Roman times. Over the centuries, syenite quarrying supported many families in the Cervo Valley and made its craftsmen renowned worldwide. Quarrying activities significantly contributed to the socio economic development of the area and its communities.
The stone has been used in numerous monuments and buildings. In Piemonte Balma Syenite can be found in several infrastructures and monuments including the Olivetti buildings in Ivrea and the Basilica Superiore of the Sacro Monte di Oropa both UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well as in other architectural works in Italy and abroad.
Aspect of polished surface sample of Balma Syenite: the polishing process highlights the violet colour of the rock (Photo by Elena Storta).
Facade in Balma Syenite of the Sacro Monte di Oropa Basilica Superiore (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Biella province, Piemonte region, Italy (Photo by Anna d’Atri).
- Main publication
Cardu M., Lovera E., Michelotti E. & Fornaro M. (2004). The exploitation of syenite in the Piedmont Alps (Italy): present relevance of the stone and future technological prospects for its sustainable exploitation, in R. Přikryl (ed.), Dimension Stone 2004: new perspectives for a traditional building material. Proceedings of the International Conference on Dimension Stone 2004, 14-17 June 2004, Prague, Czech Republic, 289-295. Taylor and Francis Group, London.
Fiora L., Fornaro M., Manfredotti L. & Marini P. (1999). La Sienite nel bacino del Cervo. L’informatore del Marmista 38, 27-34 and 38 (456) 47-56.
- Author(s)
Elena Storta
