CREDARO STONE
Credaro stone is one of the most typical building stones used over the centuries in the Bergamo area. Geological classification defines it as a sandstone with a limestone composition and it comes in 2 varieties: Medolo and Berrettino.
Medolo
Formed almost entirely by micro-crystalline calcium carbonate (crystalline limestone), very fine grain size.
The rock is very homogeneous, hazel-gray with tones from light to dark.
Berrettino
Formed mostly by small detrital carbonate granules (calcarenite), with evident levels of stratification.
Its grain size is medium-fine, its color is yellow-brown or pink, warmer than the Medolo.
The quarried material is classified as a unit of the Pietra di Credaro, which forms the easternmost portion of the formation of Bergamo’s Flysch.
These deposits are from the Cretaceous era (about 65-70 million years ago). In the late Cretaceous, the Southern Alps raised, causing landslides in the deep sea with debris produced by erosion (turbidites). These, sedimented, now form the Credaro Stone.