The church of Golia Monastery is considered one of the most representative old architecture monuments from Iasi, Romania. The monumental construction of the church combines Moldavian, Polish, Russian and even Italian Renaissance architectural elements. The building material is represented by Miocene limestones coming from several quarries nearby Iasi. Calcareous rocks of different geological ages, from the Badenian to Sarmatian (Basarabian), were exploited from these quarries. Genetically, the limestones accumulated under complex facial conditions, specific to the foreland basins which developed on the Moldavian Platform between Badenian and Sarmatian. The prolonged exposure of the limestones from the masonry of Golia Monastery to the specific alteration factors resulted in a series of effects, some more superficial, others more profound. Therefore, the microscopic analyses of the samples reveals some data concerning extraclasts, intraclasts, oolites and cement that outlines specific alteration processes.

weathering, Miocene limestones, monuments