Credaro stone mining and processing

Among the typical building stones used over the centuries in the orobic territory, the Credaro stone is certainly among the most common. Originated from sandstone and with a limestone composition, belonging to the Flysch of Bergamo, it is characterized by its simplicity and warm, soft and golden color, which makes it perfectly contextualized in the landscape.

A typical product of Bergamo
The mining and processing of the Credaro stone has been, for over 50 years, Cava Calissi’s specialization. The quarrying of its vein, in Credaro, produces Medolo, a valuable variety of limestone made of calcium carbonate, with traces of mica and quartz, which is a brown-pinkish color, and the Berrettino, carbonate-rich sandstone, which is ochre or golden yellow. The rock surfaces from the face with a sub-horizontal layout and is quarried in steps, using bucket excavators. The initial selection of the material begins at the quarry, and it is then subject to preliminary processing using hydraulic cutters equipped with the most modern electronic safety devices, which cut the stones in blocks of different thicknesses and sizes. The last, finishing step, is still performed by skilled stone-cutters. While in the past it was used with almost entirely structural functions, such as for load-bearing or for surrounding walls, nowadays the Credaro stone is mainly used as a decoration, especially for coverings of civil buildings, to which it gives particular personality and prestige. Coverings are made both using both the traditional “bolognino”, with the bossage completely made by hand, and ashlars of irregular sizes and shapes. Its versatility makes its use extremely widespread, also since the Credaro stone can be used with pleasing aesthetic effects in combination with other natural materials.