Pétreos naturales en la Catedral de Santa María de Cuenca (España)Evaluación de procedencia y estado de conservación

Resum

The Cathedral of Santa María de Cuenca is the most outstanding building in the old city. The stone material used in this monument suffers intense deterioration that requires comprehensive studies taking into account both the origin of the stone of historical construction and its conservation status. In general terms, three different lithologies are recognized in the cathedral. A grey dolostones, a white micritic limestone and the foreign material known as “Novelda stone” (biocalcarenite fine-grained cream). The main sources of the materials used in the construction of the Cathedral come from the valleys of both Huécar and Júcar rivers (cantera de Molinos de Papel), as well as from Arcos de la Cantera quarry and the area known as the Portland fountain. For the ornamental rock used, it is worth noting the use of a brecciated dolostones with marble appearance from the qua- rries of Buenache de la Sierra (Cuenca) and Las Majadas (Cuenca), a reddish marble limestone of the quarry of La Cierva (Cuenca), a serpentinite from Granada and, finally, a white marble from Carrara (Italy). Lithological maps of the façades have been prepared indicating the origin of each of the studied stones and also the decay forms observed in each one.