Angelo Scelfo: THE STONE AGE – Mining activity in Northen Italy

It’s the stone used for the base of the Statue of Liberty. For centuries, Botticino marble has been the stone of choice for public works and monuments, from the White House in Washington to the Vittoriano in Rome.

The Botticino marble basin is the second largest after Carrara. It covers an area of 3,800 hectares in which there are 23 quarrying areas with 75 active quarries. About 240 companies operate here, 50 of which are engaged in quarrying, 150 in the processing, shaping and finishing of natural stone and 40 in the wholesale trade. Ninety per cent of production goes abroad, in particular to North Africa, India and the Far East.

In recent years, however, there has been a decline in turnover: the 3 consortia present have dropped in total from 174 million in 2017 to 80 million in 2020. This has led to the gradual abandonment of local workers who, as is often the case, have been replaced by non-EU labourers, usually precarious and in many cases working without adequate personal safety devices. While the market and commissions may be fluctuating, what remains unchanged, however, is the environmental devastation and consequent loss of biodiversity in the area after years of mining.

In addition to marble, porphyry, a very hard and resistant rock mainly used for urban paving and gravel for railway networks, is quarried in the Trentino-South Tyrol region. Here too, due to foreign competition and the depletion of quarries, the market has changed considerably and many sites are being abandoned, with the increasing risk of becoming illegal dumps.