When “La Pietra Taurina soc. coop. ” born, it is not called “La Pietra Taurina” and it is not even a cooperative company. It is a family, a man and a woman who roll up their sleeves and work hard to get by. It is 1850 and the small family business begins to quarry the stone in Taurisano from where much of the stone of the whole South Salento comes from. The territory supplies Carparo, Tufo and Pietra Leccese and man extracts them, works them, uses them for churches, noble homes, prestigious buildings. At this time there are no machines: there are strong human hands, some work tools and a lot of effort.
A few years and five generations of workers have passed from the beginning of this story to today. The small family business has become a cooperative company with a more organized structure, latest generation machines and a range of action that reaches the whole of Europe. The starting point is always the same: Taurisano, from which products depart that will reach all the latitudes of Italy but also Europe. A lot of time and changes have passed. In the same way, the employees, the machines, the orders, the customer satisfaction followed one another. New orders by phone, then by email. The website, the handshakes, the thrill of always taking new steps forward.
Still today from the quarry of “La Pietra Taurina” stone blocks in the shape of a parallelepiped emerge, destined for transformation. From time to time they become coverings, counters, sinks and all finished objects destined for sale. They are blocks of Tufo, Carparo, Pietra Leccese and Pietra Taurina.
La Pietra Taurina. And it is precisely the latter, the Pietra Taurina, the spearhead of the company’s production, a type of stone with particular characteristics, sought after and highly appreciated by the public. Pietra Taurina is extracted only in the company’s territory, which is why it gives its name to the company.
It is a much harder type of stone and consequently more compact. Pietra Taurina is therefore particularly suitable for processes such as flooring as it does not suffer the elements and resists perfectly under all climatic conditions , even under frost since, not having a stratified structure, it does not allow water to infiltrate and, in the same way, the frost to swell. Due to its hardness, Pietra Taurina is used almost exclusively for the construction of floors, sinks and masonry kitchens.
Tufo e Carparo. Tufo or Carparo is a material from which it is possible to make any type of product, at any scale, from the largest to the smallest. Given the wide range of colors – from yellow, to red, to beige to black – it is possible to customize each object to the maximum. In Carparo or Tufo, the parapets, cornicesand vaults typicalof the traditional buildings of Salento are made, which are increasingly requested even beyond the borders of Salento and even Italy. It is a totally different material from the Taurine Stone – composed entirely of fossils – as it is a limestone resulting from the cementation of limestone sediments.
Pietra Leccese (in the Salento dialect, “leccisu”) is the Salento stone that everyone knows, for its particular structure, its ductility and its light and bright color that gives elegance to each artifact. Any object, even the smallest ornaments, is made with the Pietra Leccese.
In many years of activity “La Pietra Taurina soc. coop. ” has specialized in the rustic style, responding to the needs of a varied clientele from different cultural and geographical backgrounds. Among the customers of the company there are also many small and large accommodation facilities scattered throughout Europe.
Resistant as stone. Stone is not a material like any other. It carries with it a high symbolic value: it recalls the strength of those who do not give up, the hardness of the ancient hands that hollowed and worked and shaped without stopping. Stone requires dedication and effort, fortitude and sacrifice. But he knows how to repay every effort by giving enthusiasm and satisfaction.
The Apulian territory is used to stone. Today we hardly notice it anymore, yet we are surrounded by wealth and mastery. But those who live far from here, expect a trip around here to give in to the magic and fall in love with colors and shades that are not found anywhere else in the world. Because of this kind of magic that is created, the customers of “La Pietra Taurina” love to visit the company, exhibit their project, discuss it with professionals, before buying. In a word, he loves to fall in love with stone. And only after falling in love can you make it your own.