Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], July 18, 1915, Image 45

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
yMwiuments
o?Rutned Belgium to Guard Her Treasures and* Antiquities
s tind Aeroplanes and the Terribly Destructive Shells of Modern Warfare.
fot ror fc Tfca w*a
ted by Wtr* noting aa4 aaxt^hag*.
Etorf tHr engtneera was prtsaenUA
>ia btrolo statpa oi Colf<*onl ""Cap
Armie$ of the yifn?t|an Republic,"
'A a before the C^jjrch, .of B&n Giovanni
at Vesica. Thli work by Verroohio
tilled the moot perfect equestrian
xlaten<?a.
ie proper vms ao large thai k;-would
| to 4ls (>oae of It underground, and, the
jhlcb almost equalled <1 taTt>eauty an<J
|as certainly too targe to he treated
[/ Moreover. tho operation of taking
tatuo would have been attended x\tb
* danger to the work.
eclded to pile up sandbags untjl the
m nud pedestal are covered to a great
I'hat stands 1n great danger of attach
ho largest city of northern Italy, and
to tho Austrian border. Its tmmeULe
' deoorated cathedral woujd form a
p target for aviators. Whllp It ts not
ify art connoisseurs one of the great
ents oT the country, modern Italians
ibnted large sums to Its completion,
lly regard It with great affection,
ke deliberately removed Its vast and
i stained glass windows to eave them
ate that has overtaken the more ex
[down of Rhelms
|ans have received a curious hint of
*yt that awaits their monuments from
' capital of the Austrian provlnco.
pe of the chief objectives of the ital
The inhabitants of Trent, who are
[Irely Italian, hava erected * great
r
o Ola^Tam Shows How Theee
monument In hop or of the Supreme poet , of tSrffc
raoe, Dante,
The Anatrtana, 1^ ;ia. said, have mined tn?
iTtatue Of Dante with high explosives. When
the capture of. Trent by the Italians aeema in*
evl table, Dante will fly up In a tl^puaand frag
ments. and his marble remains may injure some
of. his admirers, who contributed to'hla statue.
Fortunately the* monument is a modern one.
The. most Exquisite art possessions of Italy
are, In the opinion of connoisseurs. In her north*
erti cities, and therefore within particularly
teasy reach of enemy aviators ^ind even of war
ships. 8uch world-famous shrines of beauty as
Florence, Pisa, Verona, Siena, Padua, Bologna.
Mantua. Vlcehza, Modena and Cremona are all
in the north. From a purely artistic point of
view they far surpasB In. value the hlstori.-.
monuments of Rome.and the famous antiqui
ties of the southern part of the kingdom.
Florence, with Its marvellous cathedral and
uncounted treasures, lies only seventy miles
west of the Adriatic Sea. The nearest point
where a line drawn from Florence would touch
the Adriatic lies opposite the Austrian naval
port of Pola. Here are lurking Bcores of fight
ing aeroplanes. Zeppelins and other engines of
destruction
The bronae gates of the Baptistery at Flor
ence, by Andrea Plsano and Ghlbortl, pronounced
by 'Michelangelo "worthy to be the gates of
paradise," might be Irretrievably shattered by a
Bheil striking them or falling near them. They
will be heavily protected by sandbags, while the St. Mark's
whole building will be defended by scientific
methods.
Florence ?b full of statuary* and exquisite
works of architecture, which are exposed in the
highest degree to attacks. ItB public places and
the walls of many of ita buildings.are adorned
with masterpieces by Donatello, Ghlbertl.
Michelangelo. Verrochlo and many others.
The famous "Loggia del Lantl," an open-air
gallery on the Plaiza della Slgnorla, Is rich with
priceless works of art. 'These will be bo far as
possible removed out of harm's way and hidden
In the deepest cellars of Florence, but the
whole structure must be protected against at
tack. The work of defending the art treasures
of Florence will cost hundreds of thousands of
dollars. It would cost millions but for the fact
that a large proportion of the citizens cheer
fully give theiv labor free to carry out the
work. ?
The famous collections of pictures and statu
ary In the Pitt! and Ufflzl galleries In Florence
have been taken Into tho cellars to save them
from bombs.
Not far from Florence lies Pisa with its
unique treasure, the Leaning: Tower. This is
perhaps the moBt original building In the world.
It 1b constructed In eight stages of arcades;
with open air galleries In the 6even upper gal
leries, producing an exquisitely graceful effect
The cylindrical form of the tower Is one
original feature, but most remarkable of all is
the fact that It leans thirteen feet eight Inches
from the perpendicular. Although the Inclina
tion adds considerably to the attractiveness of
the structure. It Is now reasonably certain that
It occurred accidentally during the building ?f
the tower. ,It is believed that a comparatively
alight /shoe* would send the Irreplaceable
Leaning Tower toppling to the ground, a shape
less heap of stones. Extraordinary care has
therefore been taken to preserve it from injury.
Rome "presents the two most conspicuous
marks In Europe to a hostile aircraft. One is
St. Peter's, the largest cathedral. The other Is
the Vatican, the largest palace. Would the
enemy dare to attack them? The Vatican
authorities are apparently assuming that these
buildings will be treated as neutral.
In the Vatican galleries are the greatest
treasures of painting and sculpture In the
world. Among them, for instance, are Raphael's
stupendous masterpiece, "The Transfiguration,"
and the superb statue called "The Apollo Helve
der^."
The antiquities of Rome are perhaps dearest
to the Italian people. It would be a terrible
blow to them if the enemy should damage the
bulldlngB on the Capltoline Hill,, the centre of
Roman Government In all ages. There, among
countless 6th6r^juitlqultleei stands the statue of
the Emperor Marous Aurellus, said to be the
finest and most valuable broase statue In exis
tence. This occupies a very conspicuous and
exposed position, and great care will be taken
to. protect It with sandbaga.
It 1b perhaps scarcely to be feared that an
attack will be made on the ruins of ancient
Pompeii, because the place Ib comparatively re
mote, and It has practically no population.' But
the guardians of Pompolt are taking precautions
to protect the most vulnerable and previous part
of the ruins. Such centres of interest as "The
House of the Centenarian," which Is a wonderful
revelation of ancient Pompellan life, will be
guarded against attack.
The whole problem of defending the art
treasures of Italy has been, thought out and
dealt with in a manner thai will excite the
admiration of the world in after years when
tourists are once more flocking ta the land of
Immortal beauty.
The Virgin of St. Agostino, Rome, Which Has Been Stripped of Its
Votive Offerings, Worth Hundreds of Thousands of Dol
lars, All of Which Have Been Safely Hidden.
:aQ of tJi?
iuina
>ompelL
t Mos?
'.resting
of Wlbicb
:as Been
anno (J
rosect! by
etohlag
Them a
ib-Preof
etting).
t epocP of Byzantine splendor, ths
iresatng the revived glories of the
Renaissance Rui whereas Hagla
as bull' at one effort- SL Mark's
jwth '.Two earlier churches stood
aly on Its stto The third Is more
lan either The briok core of it.
> about tbe time of our Norman
and from that day till the alx
entury almost every generation
the beauty and wealth of themonu
'herev<fr victorious Venetian' fleets
dHhey brought home some precious
>somo" finely carved capitals,; or
> objects to be built Into.the ^Shrine
own Evangelist'If they plun
vaa not after. Teutonic fashion,for
in's Bake, but in order to create,
k ? of St- Mark's are _now
verM. with /air. marbles, many of
Id .vltfi aculpture or mosaic.
sado I* adorned by . scores vof col
car"*'8- some of them of exceed
388, T>be Interior vaults are wholly
.h ruaiialo. > All the altars, the
e p?:!D>!tB, the galleries, are pre
jn Co other church, and many, of
e it from" unrecorded pastern
Som-ume? they are "bullt'?up, out of
, p- t jicrved And .re used in new
onlW* wihU injthpjr.
tfc'
No interior In the world can compare with
that of St- Mark's for splendor. The sub
dued lustre of gold, the rich harmony of
rolor In marble, porphyry and glass, the
bronze lamps and doors, the fine sculpture
In many materials?all are rich, all are
rare, and every detail Is historically inter
esting If we could know whence came and
who brought each marble panel or porphyry
Bhaft which now finds its almost perfect po
sition In the complex whole, we should by
them alone be able to form a catalogue of
the great men and the ^reat deeds of Venice.
Yet even more wonderful than the objects
themselyeB ; Is. the art whereby they..have
been 'Combined Into."this incredible whole,
this matchless unity; ;'thls summary of the
passions -and. strivings and adoratlons.j.of
half a thousand years, and those the cen
turies that Included .the crusades and the
great age..of. chivalry and. tho making, of
Europe.
Now St. Mark's as'.well as Hagla Sophia
Is imperilled by the curse of this deadly war,
In which are opposed in a life and death
Struggle the two everlastingly hOBtlle Ideals
?the Ideal that .made such things as ,St.
Mark's and Rhelms, and, indeed, all that is
fair and lovely and of good report in Europe
and America, and the ideal that would care
lessly destroy all such things and .replace
fcyViaboiatorles and. factories and .the
horrible efficiencies and Incredulities of
science. For that Is the true meaning of
this war: the contest of science against
faith, of the concrete against the abstract,
of a world of formulae and equations against
a world of mystery and fanoy and art.
The foundation of Venice was caused by
the invasion of the older Huns?the Huns
who could not help being barbarians of the
lowest class because they never had had the
chance to. be civilized. They came raging
and ravaging down Unto Italy, and the
people of Aqullela fled from their fury and
took refuge on the islands among the
lagoons, where they founded ; first Torcollo
and then Rialto (afterward called Venice).
Toreello still remains, like a stranded vessel
of an ancient type, upon its sandbank, with
.churches that look older than they are, but
yet, are ancient enough." The soil of.Tor
collo yields carved Btones that may have
come from Aqullela Itself, and.below them
yet older antiquities, going back even as far
as the days when Mediterranean commerce
was In the hands of the Mycenaean people.
.Venice, Toreello, Murano, Malamocco,
Chloggia?how they sing through one's
memory! For;these places capture the af
fection of every one aa no other place can.
Even Italy cannot rival .them elsewhere.
Florence, Rome, Capri, Palermo, lovely and
fair as. they, are. posses^o' equal fascina
tion, nor does Como, .nor the Alps, nor
Geneva's lake, nor the cathedral cities of
France, love them as we may. Venice la
above and beyond them all, tbe very centre
and kernel of the beauty of the world. A
day In Venice is an epoch In the lifetime of
any really living person, anyone noi wholly
dead to beauty, anyone with a soul not al
together atrophied. That wonderful lagoon,
bo sunny, so still, with the graceful boats
strewn about and the matchless tower of
St. George and the Campanile reflected to
Left and right in the mirror ot tho land
locked sea! ^
The Incredible fascination of the Doge's
Palace, with ita tessellated wall, faintly pink,
above the lace-like lnterlaclngs of the won
derful colonnade, which Ruskln revealed to
the admiration pf the world! How It all
draws together and leads the gliding gon
dola on to tho mouth of the Grand Canal,
that water highway frlngod with palaces
where sea and city meet and blend! Palace
after palace, Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance,
succeed one another, each like the home of
a fairy prince, glittering with broken re
flected lights from below.
Here there la a little garden where pinks
blossom on the parapet and oleanders peep
over the walls. And there is a little court
yard with its carved well-head In tho midst,
and other little palaces looking down upon it
all around. Everywhere 1b some attractive
detail, some bit of exotic carving framed
' aloft on a house facade, a mere writhing,
perhaps, of two clasped boasts, or a couple
of birds flanking a vase, or a Byzantine em
peror within a round medallion?spoil from
some far away victory which the owner of
the palace brought home and affixed for
remembrance of a great deed of war.
The little canals, too, with their endless
bendings and twlnlngs, how delightful they
are! Each house that Is reflected In them
different from Its neighbor, different In date,
In style, In size?answering the special
ueeds and likings of a particular man or
family and no other. What glimpses we
get through door. and window Into dark,
mysterious passages and chambers, wltbln
which surely no ordinary men and women
can dwell! Here, If anywhore, should be
the home of romance, of tho unexpected, the
unusual, the unLmagined.
That, after all, Is the keynote of Venice
to the foreigner?Romance! If we were to
live there it would go, no doubt, as it is
liablo to vanish from tho Alps and the aea
and the desert when we become too familiar
A
Photograph
of the
Removal
of the
Priceless
Stained
Glass
Windows
of the
Milan
Cathedral,
? Which
Are
Now
Stored'
Safely
Away.
thiTQ- (g) BY- /<VT?>lNAr?oiyA t. Cw?* StKvic?.
liable to become commonplace In these dan
gerously material days. We no sooner be
como conscious of what seems to be a
mystery than we must needs examine and
drive the mystery away; and with tho mys
tery gone romance vanishes also. What a
loss! For life has nothing so precious to
give as romance, which is a stato of mind
tho very reverse of scientific understanding.
It is easy now to realize that the culmlnu
tlon of the beauty of Venice must have
como about the beginning of the sixteenth
century, at which time the Hungarian, Al
bert Durer, spent a year within it, and we
possess the letters he then wrote , home to
his friends. In none of them does ho make
any reference to the beauty of Venice. Yet.
If jt Is glorious now in Its decay, what must
It have been then, when It wbb alive with an
art Insptred folk, splendidly dressed and
magnificent In their ways of life and their
almost continuous ceremonials.. Even thu
iSin"1^ Th?' wnr*t Zf iTvina W > Renaissance was splendid in.Venice and left
2!??S5; tbC ?M wo* mpeCtfUUy, uuharmca. That
period was followed by one of sordid neglect
and Indifference which lasted almost down
to tho days of Ruskln.
And now all is in peril at Venice as at
Constantinople, and any day we may hear
of iome ghastly tragedy?a -bomb on St,
Mark's, a slu?ll in tho Doge's Palace, a tor
pedo under the Rialto. , Such knowledt:n ia>
not ours only but still more keenly realised
by our Italian allies. It will add strength
to their patriotism and will make them yet
more determined to conquer and keep the
bated enemy off their sacred soil. That
ttiey may be enabled so to do will be the
prayer vol" every lover of things beautiful,
" With Itheims and Louvaln for objeat les?
sons, we .have had proof enough of what
Teutonic '?kultur" holds to be consistent
with its ideas of civilization. True civiliza
tion and kultur are poles asunder, and the
ono' Is essentially hostile, to the other.
Venice 1s the most glorious and perfect
shrine of all that is best In human acblava*
ment,. Civilization .stands..for thaL.