Karmen Peternelj, Sanja Alaber, Miloš Bavec, Stefano Devoto, Stefano Furlani, Goran Glamuzina, Jernej Jež, Tvrtko Korbar, Maja Oven Stanič, Maria Luisa Perissinotto, Fabiana Pieri, Duška Rokavec, Ivan Stanič, Domen Zupančič
The use of platy limestone as a traditional building material has been preserved to the present day and it gives a special character to the eastern Adriatic coast.
no clear-cut guidelines have been established in the area of spatial planning, town planning, construction and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage for the sustainable exploitation and use of this stone as a building material
It is, however, apparent that no clear-cut guidelines have been established in the area of spatial planning, town planning, construction and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage for the sustainable exploitation and use of this stone as a building material and neither have such guidelines been established for its conservation as a valuable natural feature or for the preservation of buildings and materials that represent cultural heritage. Building stone is thus often used in an inappropriate manner and stone deposit sites and the characteristic stone architectural elements of buildings are damaged or even destroyed.
The present document aims first and foremost to provide information for owners of buildings that have platy limestone built into them and to investors wishing to use this natural stone; either as roof tiles, as courtyard pavers, for window sills or other construction elements, for the construction of stone houses or the erection of dry-stone walls. We wish to encourage owners (irrespective of whether their building has been formally granted the status of cultural heritage or not) to manage the inheritance left to them by their ancestors responsibly and to strive to preserve it for future generations. (Future) investors all too frequently encounter obstacles at the very start, i.e. when they decide to carry out a particular intervention on a building such as regular maintenance, renovation, restoration or perhaps even the construction of a new building. Many find it hard to navigate through the complicated procedures, are not aware of all of the restrictions that they could encounter even before initiating the investment or during it. Furthermore, the knowledge of the correct use of platy limestone as a building material is being lost with the ever decreasing use of the stone.
Despite being drafted in a popular or non-technical manner, the present guidelines and common recommendations are intended for the professional public as well
Despite being drafted in a popular or non-technical manner, the present guidelines and common recommendations are intended for the professional public as well. We especially wish to address and caution the representatives of ministries, regional or local governments and the institutions tasked with the protection of natural and cultural heritage – i.e. anyone who is in any way involved in the decision-making process. We want to draw attention to the urgency of the amendment of legislation in the area of the extraction and use of platy limestone as a building material if we wish to preserve, renovate and maintain buildings (cultural heritage) with platy limestone built in.
The document is drafted in a way that guides the user systematically through the entire investment process. The first chapter presents the potential restrictions that must be observed. Most of the restrictions relate to the geographical location of the building; these restrictions include Natura 2000 sites, ecologically important areas, individual protected areas or other restrictions in areas of natural heritage (Maps 5.1, 5.2, 5.3). Each of these restrictions feature a brief description of the process for the acquisition of permits and the institution competent for issuing such permits (Table 5.1). This is followed by recommendations and guidelines for the sustainable extraction of platy limestone as a building material. It is possible to come across various fossils when extracting the material or when renovating buildings. We also describe the procedure to be followed if fossils are discovered, who to contact and what such a fossil find means for the course of the investment. Perhaps the most important chapter for an investor is the one summarising the general architectural solutions for buildings with platy limestone built in and the guidelines for the correct integration of this stone into buildings.
The final chapter is first and foremost intended for the policy-makers who have the opportunity and leverage allowing them to amend the existing rules, instructions, guidelines and restrictions. We have prepared a concrete proposal for legislative amendments that are urgently needed if we wish to preserve heritage in the future (Table 5.1). This will not be possible if legislation remains rigid and if it does not allow owners and potential investors to legally obtain the bases for the maintenance, renovation or reconstruction of individual buildings, i.e. the required building material, which in our case is platy limestone.
