ABSTRACT
This north-eastern region includes the sedimentary rocks of the Prealps, both Mesozoic (Rosso Verona and Rosso Asiago) and Cenozoic (marmo di Chiampo, pietra di Vicenza and Maton). Rosso Verona, a nodular limestone, is one of the most employed stones in Italy and abroad even today; its use includes column shafts, capitals, bas-reliefs, carved ornaments, etc. Rosso Asiago shows the same characters, albeit with less diffusion. The soft fossiliferous limestones from Monti Berici and Monti Lessini (pietra Vicenza and Matòn) have been employed since the Roman times, mainly for carved decorations and sometimes for architectural elements, because they are easy to work.
Sub-volcanic bodies of Euganean Hills (“Provincia magmatica terziaria” - lower Oligocene) have given rise to trachytes, quartz-trachytes, ryolites and latites. Euganean trachyte was employed to pave the famous Roman roads crossing the whole of northern Italy (i.e. Via Postumia). The use for paving is well represented in the Venetian streets (“calli”).
