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Baveno Pink Granite
The granite monument on the lakeside promenade, dedicated to the "Picasass", the local stone masons, pays homage to all the workers who have honoured the name of Baveno worldwide.
The colonnades of the Collegio Papio in Ascona, the Peace Arch and the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in Milan, the columns of the Paris Opera, the church of St. Charles in Vienna, the monument to Christopher Columbus in New York, the Royal Palace in Bangkok are but a few examples of cases in which the well known Baveno's pink granite, used for building or simply for ornamental purposes, has brought national prestige to this charming town on the lake.
The eastern side of the Mottarone magmatic mass, from mount Camoscio to the Baveno shores, is rich in this valuable rock, which over the centuries has engaged the local population in working for its quarrying and cutting.
Even though only towards the late 19th century the numerous quarries became one of the main businesses of the Verbano area, it is known that, as early as in the 16th century, granite was the most used material in Lombardy architecture, as for instance for the columns of the Milan Lazzaretto. Over the years, the use of granite gradually spread, also reaching distant destinations such as the ones mentioned above.
Transport was always performed by boat, from Lake Maggiore and then, first along the river Ticino and then along the Navigli or the river Po; the enormous rock blocks were carried, not without problems, by means of square-sailed barges.
From Baveno to the hamlet of Feriolo, along some kind of granite road, quarries follow one another characterizing the entire environment.
It ought to be mentioned that in the quarries, besides the precious pink granite, over 60 species of other minerals can be found, and some of them are named after Baveno itslef: such as "Bavenite", "Bazzite" and "Flourite".
Town
Baveno
Territory
Golfo Borromeo,
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