Cogoleto and its coastal landscape modified by secular activities of lime production: initiatives for recovering the historical tracks

From the Middle Ages up to the 50s of XXth century Cogoleto, little town of the coast west of Genoa, developed an important lime production activity that left obvious and numerous traces on landscape and architecture. In recent years the restoration of some lime production sites has brought to light new elements and suggested research activities focused in particular on the lime production techniques and its trade by sea, reaching all the Mediterranean. Behind the village of Cogoleto the quarries of dolomite are well visible. In the period of greatest development (XVIIIth century) there were no less than 12 working kilns, 7 still in the XIXth century. In particular the Bianchi kiln represents the passage from the oldest "intermittent fire" kilns to the more recent "continuous fire" kilns. Therefore its recovery has a meaning even from this point of view. The restoration, strongly promoted by the municipality of Cogoleto in 2007, is a further opportunity for a new awareness about the history of the village strongly characterized by this lime production industry that makes it different from the other villages of the Ligurian coast. The archaeological analysis of the masonries of the kiln and the survey of the quarry sites has involved several scholars from different disciplines and made it possible to investigate the evolution of the production activity.