Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-04-18
FROM THE Old WORLD.
Description VI the CIty OF tho Sen.

'"e'ehS I"HhIul dhglerreUtypc Ot passing
events TO which we must reconcile ourselves.
have not forgotten that promise to
write you, II anything striking or novel
should occur, and perhaps ought to have
discharged this duty nt Florence, in recog.
milton Of your remembrance Of us, in pro.
viding us the home news at that point in
our journey; but felt there, ms indeed |
had felt elsewhere, that, TO Americans all
the sights Of Italy and her treasures of art.
have become 40 familiar, by actual visits,
or by reading, that | could add nothing
new or interesting; but now seem to be
in city without parallel on the globe,
and short description Of it may be some.
thing new, II not instructive to your read
e-s.
Venice is situated is 450 25' n. lali ude,
which il about the latitude If Mackinaw,
with climate OF that of South Carolina.
Snow seldom falls here, and ice is as rare
with the inhabitants OF Venice, ns with
those Of New Orleans. 1t is city Of I2s.
900 inhabitants, and there is not horse or
carriage in it. Boats aud gondolas take
the place Of carriages.
The $4,000 houses and palaces of which
the city is composed, are situated on three
large, and one hundred and fourteen small
islands
There are here one hundred aud fifty
canals, which are crossed by three hundred
aud seventy-eight bridges. The streets for
which these bridges form n passage over
tile canals have an average width Of about
live feet. There are a very few streets ten
or twelve feet wide, and many not more
than three or four feet. The bridges are
all elevated, to admit the passage of boats,
aud passengers reach the summit by steps
on either side. As you can imagine il
seemed little odd to us, to be taken from
the depot TO our hotel in gondola, through
the torluous windings OF narrow canal
overshadowed 10y high buildings on each
side, which rise Immediately from the wat.
er's edge, forming damp and uninlerest-
ing passage.
The houses are 30 built as 10 front on n
canal, with the back doors opening OH one
OF the numerous small streets of the citv.
The streets are used only for pedestrians
and when one desires to drive out for pleas
ure he is forced TO take the inevitable gon-
dola, which here plays the role Of buggy,
carriage and omnibus.
The objects Of interest here 10 strangers
are the Piazza, ST. Marks, the Cnmpanile
the Cathedral Of St. Marks, the Palace OF
the Doges, the prison adjoining, connected
with the palace, by the bridge Of sighs the
Pialto, whose picture every school bov is
familiar with, and II few Of the older
churches.
The Piazza is fine square, at the head
OF which stands the Cathedral Of st. Marks,
the other three sides being surrounded by
imposing structures, which form in appear
ance one vast marble palace, biackened by
age and exposure to the weather the whole
supper ell by innuInerable arches forming
a fine colonade, aud m king II delightful
walk lOr pedestrians. The rooms back of
the colonade on the ground fl or are used
for shops where jewelry, ornaments in Mo-
sale, shells, also pearls aud Venetian glass.
the speciaItes of Venice, are offered for
sale. These articles are all tasleiully ar
ranged in the windows where they make
an imposing display and would induce one
to put his hand in his pocket Mt each an.
preaching window, and freely invest il the
fact that he Is five thousand miles from
home were not constantly before his mind.
The Campanile il II large square tower,
erected mt one end OF the PazzI in front
OF the Cathedral and from the top of which,
as the city rises, aS il were, from the sea,
the only birds-eye view oil il can be nb.
fui ha Il, h,,
clined plain which passes thirty.right Times
round the tower, before ii reaches The plat.
form at the top.
The Cathedral of S.. Marks is the prin.
cIpal church, and one Of the oldest in Ven
ice. 1t is very remarkable structure, Ii
was named after St. Max, the tilulary
Saint OF Venice, whose remains are said
to have been transported from Alexandria,
and reinterred here. The erection of il
was commenced in The tenth century, Ii
Is composed Oi u variety OF STYLES OF arch
iiectnre,the Byzantine order predominating,
and decorated with lavish, aud almost ORR
entail magmihcence. Externally and inter
nally il is ornamenled with five hundred
columns OF marble, most of which We're
brought from the East. Every niche con-
tains statue, and every dome and arch is
adorned with fine pictures IN Mosaic. The
ilOOr iS composed OF small aud large pieces
of white and colOred marble, agate, iasper.
&c. The finest ornaments of this church
were taken from eastern churches and tenn
pies, aud TO such an extent did the Vene.
lians carry on their robbery for this pur-
pose that Gaulier, who boasts OF his Ca
tholicism, CT lis it the church of the pirates.
The Palace Of the Doges is to the south
and adjoining the Cathedral. 1t is eighty.
two yards in length, and was founded in
the eighth century, hut has been several
times destroyed by fire, and as often recon-
structed in style OF greater magnilicence
than before. The present structure is in
the Venetian Gothic style and is flanked by
two colonades of one hundred and seven
columns, one over the other. The ninth
and tenth columns from the prInci-
pal portal, are Of red marble. Between
these two columns, the ancient republic
caused its sentences OF death to be pub.
lished, and il the unfortunate was n polit-
ical criminal, he was usually strang ed to
death in the prison at the other end of the
bridge called the /" Bridge of Sighs;" but
II he was an ordinary assassin, he was pub.
licly executed between two large granite
columns which stand ut the entrance of the
Piazzetta, one of which ia surmounted by
the winged lion Of st. Mark, the other by
st. Theodore on a crocodile. The palace.
as its name indicates, once the residence of
the Doges, il at present unnccupied. but is
visited by strangers for view Of the orna.
menls, and fine paintings with which its
Interior is decorated. On the frieze Of the
grand council chamber alone, there are the
portraits of seventy two Of the Duges, aud
ON the wall OF this room, there is the larg.
est painting in the world, Raphael's Para
disc, which contains six hundreds, figures,
many OF them portraits. one half of them
from the old testament history, the other
from the new.
But TO continue a description of the
paintings aud ornaments found here would
lead me far beyond the liiAits Of n letter,
besides. the history of the mighty events