Heritage Stone 4. The Piedra Berroqueña Region: Candidacy for Global Heritage Stone Province Status

Abstract

The Piedra Berroqueña region in the Guadarrama Mountains, part of Spain’s Central Range, supplies most of the construction granite used in Madrid and surrounding provinces. The region’s quarrying towns conserve their granite extraction and hewing traditions. Historic quarries form part of the landscape, as do current extraction sites with huge reserves that guarantee a speedy supply of variously finished dimension stone. Piedra Berroqueña granite has been in use as a construction material since long before Roman times. Many emblematic monuments, including San Lorenzo Royal Monastery at El Escorial (1563-1584), Madrid’s Royal Palace (1738-1764), the Alcalá Gate (1770-1778), the Prado Museum (1785-1808) and Puerta del Sol (one of Madrid’s main squares) owe their good state of conservation to the stone’s petrophysical characteristics and durability. This granite is also found on most of the city’s housing and streets, as well as modern buildings the world over, such as the airport terminals at Athens and Cork and the British consulate at Hong Kong. This paper supports the Piedra Berroqueña region's application for nomination as a Global Heritage Stone Province. It also discusses the petrographic and petrophysical properties of five representative granites that share many characteristics, including their grey tones and the presence of approximately spheroid nodules. The location of historic quarries is shown for possible future use of the material in restoration works. The Piedra Berroqueña region meets the requirements for nomination as a Global Heritage Stone Province, a distinction that would enhance public awareness of an area committed to quarrying and working the local stone.