Jan 15
2025

The Almeria-square in the city of Macael.

Photo above: The brand ‘Macael el Mármol’ and the Association of Marble Entrepreneurs of Andalusia (AEMA) received one of the first Radio España Awards for the prestige the brought to the country’s economy on national and international level. The distinction rewards that the brand is “synonymous with quality, tradition and innovation in the field of construction, design and art,“ as said on the webpage. The award was created for the centenary of the Radio España station having been founded in 1924.

Solid stone construction as a trend in architecture is the theme of an editorial of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels for magazine Domus. „Let‘s Rock“, he concludes.

ASEAN Ceramics & Stone 2024 fair held from December 11 to 13, 2024, in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) registered over 300 international exhibitors and more than 3,500 professional visitors from both industry sectors. For the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Mr. Nguyen Van Sinh from the Ministry of Construction in Vietnam was present. The next (9th) Asean Ceramics is scheduled for October 15 – 17, 2025, in Bangkok, Thailand; Asean Stone will be continued in Hanoi in 2026, according to the organizer Messe München Asia.

The Italian promotion initiative “MARMO Carving the Future” was on show in downtown Dubai on December/January after having been shown in Algiers, Washington, and Puebla, Mexico. Stops in the coming months will be in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The project is a cinema-like installation taking visitors on a journey through the history and art of Italian stone processing. The initiative is organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ITA Italian Trade Agency in collaboration with Confindustria Marmomacchine.

The Brazilian Stone Sector will have a stronger focus on the Australian market with a strong sustainability orientation, Centrorochas association informs. Both countries are located in the Southern Hemisphere. Sustainable in Brazil‘s production was a key topic at a meeting of industry leaders with president Lula da Silva, end of November 2024 in Brasília (1, Portuguese).

The New Scientist has a story about marble quarrying near Colonnata in the Apuan Alps near Carrara.

The Greek National Herald reports about “Growth, Challenges, and Future Prospects“ of the country’s marble sector, referring to an analysis by the Northern Greece Marble Enterprises Association (SEMMTH).

Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC) and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) organized a seminar to promote the country‘s marble and granite sector. The event at Marble City, Gadani, Balochistan, highlighted the sector’s growth and expansion potential.
 

Video of the month: Grand Antique marble from the Pyrenees Mountains was quarried by the Romans for centuries, and is featured e.g,. in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The quarry had been forgotten and is now reactivated by an Italians specialist.