The Stones of Venice, volume 1: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Stones of Venice, volume 1, credited to John Ruskin, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Stones of Venice, volume 1, by John Ruskin. The Stones of Venice is a three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture by English art historian John Ruskin, first published from 1851 to 1853. Intending to prove how the architecture in Venice exemplified the principles he discussed in his earlier work, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, Ruskin examined the city in detail, describing for example over eighty churches. He discusses architecture of Venice's Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance periods, and provides a general history of the city as well. The book aroused considerable interest in Victorian Britain and beyond. The chapter "The Nature of Gothic" (from volume 2) was admired by William Morris, who published it separately in an edition which is in itself an example of Gothic revival. It inspired Marcel Proust; the narrator of the Recherche visits Venice with his mother in a state of enthusiasm for Ruskin. The Stones of Venice is considered one of the most influential books of the 19th century. (Summary adapted from the Wikipedia by Leni)

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Stones of Venice, volume 1
• Author credits: John Ruskin
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 36
• Listed recording duration: 14:12:54

Catalogue topics

• architecture
• venice
• gothic

Opening tracks: first 24 of 36

1. 00 - Preface — 14:40
2. 01 - Chapter 01, The Quarry, part 1 — 22:14
3. 02 - Chapter 01, The Quarry, part 2 — 20:36
4. 03 - Chapter 01, The Quarry, part 3 — 26:25
5. 04 - Chapter 02, The Virtues of Architecture — 28:30
6. 05 - Chapter 03, The Six Divisions of Architecture — 11:12
7. 06 - Chapter 04, The Wall Base — 13:22
8. 07 - Chapter 05, The Wall Veil — 10:30
9. 08 - Chapter 06, The Wall Cornice — 16:37
10. 09 - Chapter 07, The Pier Base — 29:27
11. 10 - Chapter 08, The Shaft — 51:38
12. 11 - Chapter 09, The Capital — 39:31
13. 12 - Chapter 10, The Arch Line — 20:07
14. 13 - Chapter 11, The Arch Masonry — 26:36
15. 14 - Chapter 12, The Arch Load — 5:28
16. 15 - Chapter 13, The Roof — 14:17
17. 16 - Chapter 14, The Roof Cornice — 26:19
18. 17 - Chapter 15, The Buttress — 18:46
19. 18 - Chapter 16, Form of Aperture — 21:35
20. 19 - Chapter 17, Filling of Aperture — 25:34
21. 20 - Chapter 18, Protection of Aperture — 12:35
22. 21 - Chapter 19, Superimposition — 27:24
23. 22 - Chapter 20, The Material of Ornament, part 1 — 28:41
24. 23 - Chapter 20, The Material of Ornament, part 2 — 45:11

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This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.