The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-08-30

black and white marble being the mos
striking. and San Annunziata, the churcl
of the Gapnchins, noted for its gorgeou
interior decorations. Only few Of tn
streets are OF even tolerable width, ant
many can be passed through only on foot
in some cases the walls almost meeting fa
above the heads of the passengers. Blu
like many of the cities Of italy whose an
cient glories have faded, Genoa is making
rapid strides toward recovering portion
at least Of its former greatness. From
Genoa to Pisa the road lies for nearly 10l
miles along the shores Of the Mediterranean
and the delightful views Iof land and Sc,
are only interrupted by The innumerablt
tunnels. We pass numerous and valuable
marble qnarries and finally reach the city
the fame of whose leaning tower, il
world wide. In the northwest corner o1
Pisa is "a group of buildings without
parallel" The Cathedral the Campanile
or Bell Tower, usually knoHn, as the leaning
tower, the Baptistery and the Campo Sante
are all located here. Thes Cathedral, bull
III tho eleventh century, Ii Of white marble
with most elaborate eEnamentation in
black and colors. rs ii kior still contains
the bronze chandelier whose motion sug-
gested to Galileo the idea Of the pendulum.
In the rear sof the cathedral, although
nearIy opposite the door by which entrance
is usually made, ii ttd famous leaning
tower, from whose ID faIniit the bells of the
CathedraI are souh This tower is 17s
feet Il height and incIlnes nearly IA feet
from The perpendicular This being much
less than half iss diameter, its stability is
not Affected III the least. The cause of the
incIination has been much discussed, but
no salts factory explanation has ever been
I'Ele fact that leaning towers are
found other parts Of Italy and that this
has Tor over7oo years without reach
ing q dangerous point would seem to indi-
cate sons thing mots than accidental
hite ongg nature Of the
ground which has sslIrevn many OF the
lines d Tue oashedr tout Of plum, .
together with The fact flat the upper stories
Of the toser have the columns on the lower
side somewhat len ethenea, as if to remedy
tie inequality caused bv Che inclination,
would favor The theory ttlaat the settlement
had occurred after the building Of the
tower had heen commenced. Whatever the
cause, Il il q wonderful structure and as we
assembled It's winding stats and looked out
over It's inclined walls, we felt again the
pleasure which comes ID the realization
Of boyish anticip atoms The Baptistery is
situated directly pposite The facade OF the
Cathedral, and Ii d circular marble build
ing Of great architsctaral beauty. The
pulpit BY NicoIo Risal1e, 1860, is most
elaborateiy carved and its reliefs, represent
ing tho nativity, the alteration, the crucifx-
ion, etc, have been the subject of admira-
ton for over six centuries. The echo of
the Baptistery is one of the most marvel
ously beautiful in the would, its circular
form and dome-shaped roof repeating the
sounds with peculiar sweetness.
North of the Cathedral and Baptistery is
the Campo Santo, an enclsoed corridor con-
tanning on its inner walls many quaint
frescoes of the early schools. In the eyes
of the faithful this is peculiarly "holy
ground" as when the Crusaders finally
abandoned Palestine in 1860 they brought
with them over fifty ship loads of earth
from Mt. Calvary for this cemetery.
Within the enclosure are monuments to
many noted men of Pisa, as we'll as several
Greek and Roman sarcophagi. Among the
freseoes, the Triumph of DEATH" of the
fourteenth century, is of especial interest
as showing the crude ideas of those early
ages. At the base, the bodies of the dead
lie in heaps, including kings and queens,
princes and Popes, the 1owly and the proud,
while their souls, represented by nude in
fants, issue from their mouths or bodies.
Above is horde of demons, grotesque and
hideous forms, who seize the greater num-
Der of the souls and hurry them away to a
furnace which appears on the summit of q
hill in the distance. Angels too +" are
lowering near and occasionally select
one. who is borne away to eternal bliss.
Some are claimed by both angels and de-
mons and the struggles are represented in
a manner certainly not calculated to i'm
press the modern behoIder with the
solemnity of the subject.
From Pisa the railway lies for long
distance along the old Roman road builtby
Scaurus more than 100 years before Christ
We pass many places famous in history
and after 220 miles of travel reach the
Eternal City. G. L. N.
Gen. R. B. Elliott, colored man who
will be remembered by some of our readers