The text is dedicated to the whole process of the stone from quarry to finished sculpture. It provides hisorical informations, traditional techniques and new technology details. The author's words are supported by 1248 images, mostly published for the forst time, demonstrating how the bases of the stone-working are today the same traditional ones and their evolutions, started centuries ago. The research of the author developed during about ten years of studies and several trips in different european countries, in North and South America and in Asia. This book is the first one of the collection called "Le tecniche artistiche ed il restauro". To be used for didactic pourposes, the text is easy to follow, the structure of the book is divided into thematic sections and one glossary helps to avoid doubts. Author: Augusto Giuffredi, ex-teacher of Technology and use of marble, stones and semi-precious stones in the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna, Italy. 386 illustrated pages, Alinea Editore, 2012