The historical quarry of pena (Vila Real, north of Portugal): Associated cultural heritage and reuse as a geotourism resource

Stone created and still creates cultural heritage in landscapes, villages and cities all over the world. Granite was and still is a crucial building stone in Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion. Ancient quarries, forms of extraction and buildings built with it are a heritage we should safeguard. This work details a practical case of sustainable use of a granite historical quarry in Pena (Vila Real, North Portugal). A geotourism itinerary would bring new life to this abandoned quarry. A proposed route connects the quarry with the main buildings and monuments built with its granite in the nearby city of Vila Real. It envisages an eighteen-stop tour of the buildings and monuments built with Pena granite. The proposal includes a geotourism excursion through this impressive quarry, which forms an open-air geological museum. The implementation of this project has two aims. First, to revive the historical quarry of Pena. Second, to promote the sustainable conservation of cultural heritage by creating an inventory of buildings of Vila Real city built with granite from Pena. Thus, it will enable the economic development of local communities using built heritage linked to heritage stones. The quarry of Pena will be a source of granite for possible future restorations of the historical buildings built with it. Environmental economics relates to geotourism, cultural tourism and the sustainable use of historical quarries. •Abandoned historic quarries are a resource with tourist and economic potential.•Natural stones and historical quarries have links to cultural heritage.•Cultural heritage built with heritage stones is a unique and unrepeatable legacy for future generations.•Petrography is an essential technique for identifying heritage stones.