In June, I had the opportunity to join a group of architects on a journey to the two largest stone quarrying and processing hubs in Portugal — the marble region in Alentejo (Vila Vicosa) and the limestone region in the Serras de Aires and Candeeiros Natural Park, which is located in central Portugal. The trip was the first “Designing with Natural Stone” Portugal course, which was organized by Veronafiere in collaboration with Assimagra, the Portuguese Mineral Resources Association.
To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure of the connection between the two organizations. I wondered why would Veronafiere want to promote stone in Portugal rather than Italian stone? I soon learned that this course was the first time that Veronafiere actually sold its Marmomacc Stone Academy course, which is a branded event.