The Stones of Venice (Vol. 1-3). John Ruskin

The Stones of Venice is a three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture by English art historian John Ruskin. Ruskin examines Venetian architecture 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 as being an art historian, Ruskin was a social reformer. He set out to prove how Venetian architecture exemplified the principles he discussed in his earlier works.