NOTES OF A TRIP THROUGH THE CONTINENT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 14344, 24 October 1910, Page 2

NOTES OF A TRIP THROUGH THE CONTINENT.

(By W.F.G.) Between Florence and Bologna there are fifty long and short tunnels! It was dark when wo arrived at tho railway station at Venice, and as our hotel was situated close to St. Mark’s Square, it took twenty-five minutes to arrive there by gondola. The whole scene was novel to us, and very interesting. When tho gondolier is approaching any small branch canal or corner he gives a warning call so as to apprise any gondolier who might be close at hand. All gondoliers are obliged to bo of good character, keep a decent suit of clothes (generally black), and may not smoke while on duty. Some hotels have their own gondolas (which are called “busses”) lor the convenience of patrons arriving and departing by tram. Tho current coin of Italy is the lira, equal to about a French franc, or our teupenoo. Venice (qalled Venezia in Italy) has a population of 150,000. Its curly struggles make a sad page of Italian history. In A.D. 400 tho Venetians took refuge from the invasion of the Goths in the islets of the lagoon. There were twelve isles, which were united by wooden bridges, and the town surrounded by ramparts. In 697 the people met to elect a Doge, who was to rule all tho united isles. The tenth Doge took his seat at Rialto (high river), which was the only islo that had repulsed the attacks of Pimpino ii Breve. On July 21, 829, a ship brought from Alexandria, in Egypt, the relics of St. Mark, who became the Patron Saint, and his Lion was created tho coat-of-arms of the city. Venice was then called St. Mark’s Republic, and erected tho Church of St. Mark in honour of the patron saint. By the conquest of Constantinople they came into possession of many artistic works, among which were the four bronze horses that adorn the front of St. Mark’s.' The first Doge of Venice was Paolo Luoio Anapesto, and the last Lodovico Manin, who died in 1802, and so did the republic. The golden book and insigifia of the,Doge’s dignity were burnt in St. Mark’s Square, and Napoleon entered Venice. Tho chief places of note in Venice, are tho Cathedral of St. Mark and the Square, which latter is the favourite rendezvous of the Venetians. It is' about 580 feet long and 270 and 190 feet wide. Quo Sunday afternoon wo had the pleasure of listening ,to an excellent hand, which rendered a fine programme of music to a vast audience. The chief amusement of visitors to the Square is feeding the notable pigeons of St. Mark’s, and a very interesting and amusing sight it is, small packets of grain being sold for the purpose. The now Campanile is in courso of construction. The former, which fell in 1902, was built about 900, and was over 300 feet high. St. Mark’s Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 976 and rebuilt under Doge Vitale Fuller, and was consecrated 1194. It is said to be a harmonious mixture of various styles of architecture, and is very fine in beautiful granite and marbles. : The floor in some places is very uneven. The church is about 250 feet long, ,170 wide, and 205 high. It has a beaptiful, facade, is very rich in mosaics, and it is said there is over 13,000 feet of gilt on its walls. In the interior 800 columns of marble support it. Some are said to have come from Solomon’s Temple. Among other adornments of. the beautiful facade are the famous four bronze horses. We were informed that Napoleon took them to Paris, but they were restored to Venice after his downfall. Tho church is in the form of a Greek cross and is divided into, three naves. To give a full description of this .famous 'cathedral would _lw impossible. There is a much copied picture of a churoh with a loftly dome, with gondolas, etc., in tho foreground, entitled “St. Mark’s and Grand Canal, Venice.” This picture really represents the Chicsa S. Maria della Salute on the opposite side of the canal, as St. Mark’s cannot be seen from the water, being shut out by the Ducal Palace and other buildings. The Ducal Palaco was built about 813, but was burnt with St. Mark’s Church. It was reconstructed and enlarged. The principal door is called the Porta Della Carta. The grand, staircase loads to the lobby wherein are busts and medallions of notable men. In tho outside lobby, looking down on the Piazetta, there are two red columns among the white ones. Between these tho registrars read the sentences of the Council of Ten to . the people below. The interiors of the various halls and rooms are beautifully decorated in religions and other subjects, in frescoes and mosaics. In the Sala Della Bussola, so called on account of the trap door (bussola) through which those found guilty were passed without seeing each other, was the anti-cham-ber of the Council of Ten. Out of the door were two lions mouths, through which direct communications were handed in. Only one is now remaining, Sala del Maggior Consiglio—The Greatest Council, had the ruling power, and was composed of noblemen, over 20 years of age, and of legitimate, birth, whose names were inscribed in the golden book. They were elected by ballot on St. Barbara’s Day. Hus hall is one of the largest in Europe, being 175 feet long and 80 feet wide.' Above the throne is what is considered tho largest picture in the world, by Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto. It represents the Glory of Paradise, and is 80 feet long and 24" feet wide. One could sneim hours looking over the beautiful pictures and decorations in tliia Palace. The prison below arc entered through, the room of tho Avagadori (lawyers). Some are of stone, where the political prisoners wore kept, and others of wood, called piombi, because they arc under the leaden roof of the Palace. They are drearv looking colls, and full of legend, as is the Ponte doi Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) which is divided into two passages. Tho prisons to which it loads from the Palace are still in use. Daniil Manin and other notables were incarcerated there in 1848. The clock ■ tower is not far from St. Mark s, and is encased with Grecian.marble. Ihe clonk was placed in position m 1-UJ. On the top there arc two large figures of Moors that strike the hours with hammers on a largo bell. Below them is a gilded lion, of marble, with a blue background. It is said that a workman, who went up to do some repairs, forgot himself and received his death Mow from the hack stroke of one of the colossal figures. The Piazetta leads into the Piazza of St. Mark from tho Molo, or landing place of the Canal, and is bounded l, v the Ducal Palace and tho Mint. Close bv to the Molo are two columns, St. Mark and St. Theodore, between which we wore informed executions wore carried out in days gone by To the west of tho Mint is the Royal Palace nnd gardens. The Grand Canal is the main arterv of tho town, nnd is in tho Shape Of a negative letter S. It is 2 miles long, 230 and 130 foot broad at its widest and narrowest parts Many of the buildings on each side of it havo been palaces and have histones.

Some of them are now fine hotels. Starting from tho Ducal Palace at tho Molo and sailing up to the Rialto, which is nearly half way to' the railway station, on the right some little distance up is a palace that tradition points out as the “House of Desdemona,” or Othello’s Palace. On tho loft, and nearly opposite, is the Church of Santa Maria della Salute. To give some idea of what the foundation of this fine church was composed of, 1,156,000 piles were driven down in the year 1631. The church took 25 years to build. To continue our trip, and passing several palaces on both sides to . one on the right, the Palace Mocenigo, where Lord Byron lived in 1818. Nearly opposite is the Palace Browning, and from a notice wo find that visitors are admitted from 16 to 18 o’clock 1 Further up on the right the Palace Manin, where the last Doge of Venice, L. Manin, lived. It is now tho Bank of Italy. Nearly opposite, on the left, the Palace Bernado, the prettiest in tho Canal. It is now a glassware factory, where we were shown some magnificent specimens of glass manufacture. This brings us to the Rialto Bridge. It was built in the 16th Century, and is of a single span of 90 feet, and the bridge is 160 feet long and 70 feet wide. There are 24 shops upon , it. A very fine view i of tho Canal can be got from either side. ,To the loft end of the bridge is a house close to it ,where is a statue of a hunchback supporting the steps to a pillar, from where, in olden times, the public were addressed. Our guide assured us it was the house historically famous as being Shylock’s. The Academy of Fine Arts is on the left side, whore an iron bridge spans the Canal. It contains a great many splendid pictures, a number being religious subjects. “The Consignment of the Ring of St. Mark to Doge Gradinego by Bordone,” a very' fine work, is in the collection. Opposite the City. Museum- is the 1 Palace Vendrainin Calorgi (1481), belonging to tho Prince of Bourbon. Richard Wagner died here in 1883. The, first Venetian Church, built in 428 is near ' the Rialto. In the Church of, Santa. Maria Formosa (the beautiful or handsome Virgin), which is beautifully decorated there is a much admired picture of St. Barbara. The Church of St. John and St. Paul, built 1240-127 Q, is called the Venetian Pantheon. Some distance down the Canal and to the eastward of St. Mark’s a,re the public gardens. They were founded in 1807 by Napoleon , on the site of some demolished churches and poor houses. They are very .nicely laid out, , and there are several monuments in the grounds, among them one of Garibaldi of bronze and a marble one of’ R. Wagner. Steam boats ply regularly between the railway station and Lido, calling at several stages' along the' Canal. Lido is a strip'of land dividing the lagoon from the sea. ' Years ago, •at this place, the Republic used to celebrate a, solemn, festivity, the marriage of Venice with tho Sea, which was done by throwing a gold ring into the sea. On arrival at the wharf trams can be taken to the baths at the Strand, passing some fine hotels and villas.

Lido is a great summer resort, and the bathing , establishment at the Strand is a ,very fine one. After residing in large cities that . are built on terra'firma, Venice comes as a complete change and surprise, with : its waterways for streets, and gondolas for cabs, no horses, nor, vehicles of; any, sort,: and where for . once oho is free" from the snort, dust, and stench of the motor car. A very pleasant' and instructive hour was spent at the glass mosaic factory, where the most beautiful articles are made. ' Tho proprietor showed us some splendid specimens of his work and said ho had friends (cus-. tomors) as far away as New Zealand even, and he produced his book , and pointed to an entry there. “You sea that, sir?” Yes, but I pointed'out to his surprise, that the entry said New Jersey, Which was quite a different place to New Zealand. Having mentioned, fresco and mosaic in connection with decorations, a few words: thereon for the information of your juvenile readers might, not bo out of place here. .A mosaic is.a picture, in which the artist, instead of using oil or water colours, gets tho same' effect by using very small squares or hoxaganols of coloured glass, marble, or porcelain. Those are stuck on the ground to bo decorated; the. shades, high lights, etc., being produced by darker, and lighter pieces of whatever substance is being used. A fresco, on the other hand, is a picture painted in water colours, or 1 distemper,' like the colours a scene painter uses on a wet plaster ground. The plaster absorbs the colours, which become completely fixed into it.' ' When' dry,' a fine bold effect is tho ; result,, , Frescoes have boon removed from tlie, buildings in which they wepe originally executed, and placed elsewhere. A cloth is glued or pasted over the picture, and when drythe plaster is carefully chipped at tho back so as to leave a very thin layer, (which has, the picture, upon it) attabbed to the cloth. It is then taken to where it is to bo replaced, prepared, and pressed' into' a newly ' 1 plastered wall, and allowed to dry, when the cloth that 1 secured it is’damped and finally peeled from off the face of the picture.