Laboratory Tests for the Characterisation of a Sedimentary Arenaceous Limestone Used in the Architectural Heritage of Northern Italy

The Saltrio stone, a clastic sedimentary rock from the Italy-Swiss border, has been used in Northern Italy’s architectural heritage since the 15th century, with notable examples including the Santa Maria delle Grazie church in Milan and the Certosa di Pavia. Despite its historical relevance, the extraction of Saltrio stone has shifted from sourcing whole blocks for construction to producing only crushed aggregate, limiting its potential and supply for the preservation and rehabilitation of heritage buildings. To ensure the successful preservation interventions of so many cultural assets, it is essential to conduct physical and mechanical characterisation of this stone. A laboratory test campaign was conducted to gather information on the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of the stone material. The results will provide valuable information not only for cultural heritage conservation, given the lack of such characterisation in existing literature, but also for assessing the structural capacity of existing heritage structures. Furthermore, they will support more accurate predictions before and during experimental tests on full-scale historical buildings in laboratory settings.