Fabric, porosity and water permeability of calcarenites from Apulia (SE Italy) used as building and ornamental stone

The purpose of the study was to determine the properties influencing the performance of Apulian calcarenites as past and present building and ornamental stone. A comparison of qualitative fabric observations in petrographic thin sections and quantitative measurements of physical properties, including porosity, pore size distribution and permeability, is discussed. The results suggest that the mercury intrusion porosimetry data and qualitative fabric analysis related to pore size distribution are the most critical observations regarding the potential for the stone to take in and hold water and hence to weathe