Show a a jassu a 0 2 when last year the famous bilhou ette of venice belfied of all paint ers from carraccio Car to the hordes of artists and amateurs who to this day invade the lagoon city at every spa son of the year was robbed of its most prominent and characteristic feature by the collapse of the campa nile that bold structure which was the very symbol of the greatness of the old republic the indolent happy go lucky inhabitants of the town which eo invites to day dreams and doice dolee far niente were rudely awakened from their dream of security and re I 1 ance on tl e stability of the legacy A J r an anc ent palace left to them by the masters of yore Is not the prosperity nay the very existence of this fairyland of marble and brick vested in this heritage 9 in their sudden alarm the anthore ties have not only commenced the re construction of the campanile and the repair of the damage done to oth er edif edifices ices by its fall but have over hauled practically all the old churches and palazzi and the result of their in vesti gation shows that the great dis aster was really a blessing in dis guise tor for many are the towers and buildings that hate met with a similar fate had not the fall of the campanile directed attention to their threatening condition of all the buildings on the grand 4 s ar ite y w if C 4 a w asad yS ste 4 Ad 41 t f va 6 S jf wf domes and stately spires canal none is so bewitching in its glitter of white marble in roseate light none so imposing under its no ble cupola as santa maria della sa lute whatever objections may be raised against lonchena Lon ghena the archi hect s sins against purity ot of style on the roof of this church a crack has been discovered and the rain fliller ing through it was injuring a paint ing by Salv lati repairs were abonce at once commenced by order of the architect archi tec tural committee the campanile of the fourteenth century church of st stetano stefano with its elegant brek br ck facade which threat ened to follow the example of its elder and sta statelier teller brother has been corn com plemely surrounded by a wooden tow er in ill preparation for the exten extensive re pairs it Is to be strengthened but the old form will be retained the tower of S giorgio del greet built after 1538 by santo lombardo and ch ona has been leaning for centar ies but lately attention has been drawn to its threatening condition it will probably undergo a thorough ex amin atlon another church about the safety of which serious apprehensions have been aroused Is san francesco daila vigna so called from a vineyard in which the powerful alani family had a chapel erected in honor of st marl the legend has it that the evangelist on his journey from aquileia Aqui leja to rome was surprised by a storm and stopped steppe it in this swamp where an angel greet ed him with the words pax tibi marce evangeliste meus which words figured subsequently on the escutcheon of the republic it was ascertained that the right side of the church was in danger and glass standard marks were applied in diffy diffner er ent positions position si on the walls three of these were found broken in tour four days supports have now been placed in position and the church has been bee closed to the public pending repairs san giovanni Glov annl e paolo the fearl a and nd other churches are like likewise wise la in the hands of the restorers As regard the campanile itself the work ot of rebuilding will probably have to be suspended during the winter months piles have been sunk within the perimeter of the old foundations in a few weeks the work will be corn com plated on one of the four sides and then the tho commission will decide whether the old basement enlarged and strengthened will be able to BUS sus tain the weight of the new colossus Sanso San sovino vinos s gem of dainty tare the lougetta Log getta once the of the venetian nobles and later the waiting room of the guards which was swept away by the falling giant was a veritable storehouse of sculptured masterpieces San sovino s won darful bronze figures of apollo mer cury pallas and peace are to be re cast from the carefully collected frag ments by the chevalier Minor etU ettl the same sculptor architect architects s terra cotta madonna which has been shattered into about 1 1600 fragments was hand ed over to pietro zei zel who with incredible patience and skill has united the countless pieces so that the statue is ready to be replaced in its niche as soon as the building Is completed gals gal s bronze gate one of the proudest possessions of the vene fians was found under the ruins twisted but only with one of the top lions broken so that it can easily be repaired the palace of the doges on which so many succeeding generations of architects have expended the best of their efforts has long been in a tot bering condition and ever and anon new parts are found that require strengthening and repairing at the present moment the corner frontin 0 the ponte della delta and klo rio del Is being radically overhauled even the p decoration of the doges palace has to be saved from the ravages of time Tin s wonderful paradise a picture re near ly eighty feet in length had to be taken from the wall of the great coun cil ell hall ball a task the accomplishment of which offered enormous difficulties and now prof giovanni Giov annl Is baily backing this gigantic work with fresh canvas the commission for this picture was originally given to paolo veronese who however died before he had completed even his sketches Tin was then the only venetian painter who was vms considered capable of undertaking so great a task but his old age prevented him from seal ing the ladders to give the last touches after the picture had been placed in poci position tion so that he had to employ his son while he stood below and tended the work the paradise Is considered Tin s supreme mas and its destruction would in aeed have been an irreparable loss in venice among those who know the opinion prevails that funds should be more liberally provided by the gov to maintain artistic treas ures which are unique and form the patrimony of the horld orld and that con coil si sideri dering cg the special conditions of the venice subsoil a man of really emi nent technical capacity should be placed at the head of the architecture ur al ai government and municipal offices when a subscription list was made to raise funds for the rebuilding of the campanile the appeal was readily responded to now that it appears 4 Q X 4 1 41 4 04 4 til L has seen many centuries that the whole city of venice the loveliest city of the world orld la Is threat ened a new effort should be made to k assist the italian government in a task which will require an enormous I 1 outlay of capital the queen of the adriatic an italian town geography geo graph icalla and politically belongs to the world to everyone whose mind Is to be impressed by art and beauty many are the travelers who have spent happy hours hour on the canals and squares of venice and whoever has bee been there cannot but retain a tender mem ory cry of his visit he will not tall fall to contribute his mite toward the preservation er ot of so much loveliness |