The Stones of Venice, Volume 1 (of 3)

The opening pages draw listeners into a meticulous tour of Venice's oldest stone façades, where the author recounts seventeen years of personal visits and countless measurements. He explains the puzzling disagreements among local scholars about when key palaces were built, and how he set out to resolve them by examining every trace of marble and brick. The tone is both scholarly and intimate, inviting you to picture narrow alleys bathed in shifting light as the investigation unfolds.

Beyond the dry facts, the work reflects on how architecture reveals moral and aesthetic values, linking the city's glittering palaces to larger ideas about truth and beauty. The narrator’s vivid descriptions turn stone into story, letting listeners hear the echo of hammer strikes and the rustle of water against the basements. This blend of careful research and poetic observation makes the journey through Venice’s foundations both educational and deeply moving.