ABSTRACT
The westernmost region of Italy shows different ranges of mountains (Alps) supplying building stones throughout the territory, but only a few were used in Lombardy. Igneous rocks come from different plutons of Canavese: Rosso Pantheon (Permian-Triassic plutonism); Diorite di Vico Canavese and Sienite di Balma (Tertiary alpine plutonism). Metamorphic rocks come from poly-metamorphic basement (Permian-Triassic): Pietra di Luserna (gneiss) and Bargiolina (quartzite). Green stones come from both Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta. The first one includes ophicalcites and basaltic breccias (Verde Alpi and Verde Cesana, Jurassic); the second one includes ophicalcites of different Ophiolitic units (Verde Aver, Verde Chap-de-Praz, Verde Chatillon, Verde Issorie, Verde Patrizia, Jurassic - Cretaceous).
Igneous rocks were used as column shafts or as polished slabs; metamorphic rocks were used as slabs for paving (split-face); green stones were always used as polished slabs.
