"THE GIRL OF ANZIO."

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 14727, 4 August 1921, Page 6

"THE GIRL OF ANZIO."

ADVENTURES OF ANCIENT

STATUE. A (Correspondent "New York Tribune") ROME, May 7. Recently while workmen were dredging in the . port of Anzio, . near Rome, they hauled up a-, marble arm which is believed to belong to a Greek statue, found on the beach some thirty years ago. This statue is known as the Girl of Anzio, "La faneifilla D'anzio," and artists and archaeologists have disagreed over it, some say ing that it is a statue of a youth in drapery, while others insist it represents a young' girl. Now that the arm has been found it may be possible to discover the real sex of the statue, as the Greek sculptors were always careful, when chiselling the arms of a young man to dilineate the muscles. Up $o thirty years ago the statue was intact. Off the beach at Anzio there is a mass of masonry, the re-, mains of an ancient Roman villa, marking the site where Nero's villa once stood. Walls enclose three sides of what was once the imperial summer quarters, paved in mosaics and adorned with stucco reliefs and frescoes. For centuries these foundations had remained, withstanding the fury of the sea and- rain. One' stormy day a fisherman's boat was carried out to sea, and in an effort to gain port he raised his sail and looked about for familiar landmarks which would lead him into safety- When he got hisj boat around, instead of the mass of: walls he saw, standing erect, a white figure, which in the uncertain light appeared to be an apparition of the Madonna. A break in the clouds and j a ray of sunshine lighted up the statue and he saw it was of marble.

He brought his boat near, and found that the statue was intact and quite unlike the others found in former years, as the Apollo Belvedere and others less valuable, which were a bit damaged. It was standing on its original pedestal, and the fisherman realised that if he could hide it and then sell it his fortune was made.

For the last fifty years all the fishermen in Anzio have realised the importance of ancient finds, and from infancy they study the shore and soil in an effort to discover something valuable. Not only the fishermen, but the farmers and day labourers in this district, are always on the alert for ancient remains.

No one knows now how he hoped' to carry the statue away unaided, as ;it was very heavy. In his efforts he : shifted it so that it fell into the sea. Later the Prince Aidobrandni, hearing rumour of the statue, instituted a search for it, .but when eventually, it was found the head and both armswere missing. The princo offered a reward of 100 dollars, and a fisherman 1 discovered the head and one arm, the latter having drapery over it. When the statue had been mended the prince kept it at his villa in his gallery, where only dealers and antiquarians were allowed. to view it. Experts have differed ~as to its stylo and chronology and archaeologists are still uncertain as to its meaning. Some have identified it as a priestess of the celebrated Apollo of Patera in Lycia,. while others say that it is a prophetess or one of the virgins selected for that/ office. The identifications were based' on the objects carried by the figure, the laurel leaves and a roll represent- - ing parchment on which were inscribed the responses of the oracle. Con--trary opinion now seems general thak the roll really is a linen band used in jmrificafions while the animal, claws are the feet of a tripod or implement for burning incense.

The Italian Government offered 90, 000 dollars for the statue, the prince being obliged to accept this, although he had beforo this period received an offer of 120,000 dollars from Mrs. Gardner, of Boston. While the negotiations IWeween the prince and the Government were in progress, 'two years, policemen were placed night and day outside the villa to prevent the statue being smuggled abroad. Its value to-day is a half million dollars-