Petrophysical and mechanical properties of soft and porous building rocks used in Apulian monuments (south Italy)

Abstract: This paper brings a comprehensive review of the main petrophysical and mechanical properties of calcarenite rocks used from time immemorial in Apulia (south Italy), with load-bearing and decorative functions both in constructions of specific historic and architectonic interest and in more common buildings. These soft and porous rocks show a reduced ability to maintain their characteristics of strength, appearance and resistance to decay over a considerable period of time. Even more than other sedimentary rocks, calcarenites belonging to the same formation can change considerably in terms of physical properties and mechanical behaviour due to the complex spatial arrangement of facies strongly conditioned by depositional fabric and diagenetic processes. A number of calcarenite varieties belonging to the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. and Pietra Leccese Fm. was selected from different parts of Apulia and characterized according to petrogra-phical, physical andmechanical properties. These included porosity, pore size distribution, density, water absorption, degree of saturation, permeability, thermal properties as well as compressive strength and flexural strength. Particular attention was given to the relationships between rock fabric features and physico-mechanical behaviour of the calcarenites. In addition, a comparison of data for the examined varieties was also discussed. A classification of the Apulian calcarenites based on rock fabric features and uniaxial compressive strength was proposed. Critical obser-vations regarding the durability of the Apulian calcarenites were made, taking into account other data from literature. The Apulia region (south Italy) is essentially formed by shallow-water carbonates. Extensive deposits of fine- to coarse-grained calcarenites belonging to the Plio-Pleistocene successions of the Murge plateau (Iannone & Pieri 1982), Oligocene-Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene sequences of the Salento peninsula (Bossio et al. 1988) and Miocene and Pliocene sequences of the Gargano promontor