Beyond 19th Century Guidebooks: John Ruskin’s Gaze on St Mark’s Square from “The Stones of Venice” to “St. Mark’s Rest”

Abstract

This thesis constitutes an attempt to study two of John Ruskin’s main works: "The Stones of Venice" (1851-1853) and "St. Mark’s Rest" (1877). Written during very different periods of his life, in these works he provides a reconstruction of the image of Venice guiding travellers to visit it properly. By investigating these two works together with the beginning of mass tourism and the rise of guidebooks popularity, I shall examine how Ruskin enters the tourist scene and evolves his gaze proposing new solutions to “the few travellers who still care for her monuments”. From varied descriptions of St Mark’s Square found in Murray’s famous series of "Handbook for Travellers in Northern Italy" and Ruskin’s works, this thesis deals with the way the "the drawing room of Europe" is differently described over the years.