The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-08-28

the innumerable tunnels. We mas,
numerous aud valuable marble Guarries
and firally reach the city. the fame ot
whose Leaning tower" is world wide
In the Northwest corner of Pisa il "s
group of buildings without paraIIe, |;
Tho Cathedral, the Campauile or Re-;
Tower, Usually known as the lepnino
lower, tho Bptaistery and the Campo
Santo, are all located here. The Cathe.
drai, built in the eleventh century. is of
white marble with most elaborate oIpa.
mentation in black and colors. It's into.
rlor still contains the bronze chandeIier
whose motion suggested to Galileo the
idea OF o pendulum. In the rear of the
cathedral, although nearly opposite the
door 6y which entrance is usually made
10 the famous leaning tower, from whose
summit the bells Of the Ca,aedra, are
sounded: The tower is 179 feet in height
and incllnes nearly ID feet from the per.
Pendlcular. This being much less than
It's diameter, its stability is not affected
IN the least. The cause of the incl;na. !.
tion has been much discussed. but no
satisfactory explanation has ever hes n
gwen. The fact that leaning towers are
iound In other parts of Italy and that
This has stood for over 700 years without
reaching dangerous point would seem
to indicate something more than acci.
dental results; while tho spongy nature
OF the ground which has thrown many of
the lines Of the Cathedral "out of plumb :"
together with the fact that the unper
stories Of the tower have the columns on
the lower side somewhat heightened as
II to remedy the inequality caused by the
inclination, would favor the theory tina:
the settlement bad occurred she- the
building ct the tower had been com.
menced. Whatever the cause, it is a
wonderful structure and as we assembled
Its winding stairs and looked out over it's
inclined walls, we felt again the pleasure
which comes from the realization of bo Y .
ish anticipations. The Baptistery is
Is altuated directly opposite the facade
OF the Cathedral, and is circular marble
building of great architectural beauty,
The pulpit, by Nicolo Pisano, 1860, is
most elaborately carved and its reliefs.
representing the nativity, the alteration,
the crucifixion, etc., have been the sub.
Ject of admiration for over six centuries.
The echo of the Baptistery is one of the
most marvelously beautiful in the world.
lts circular forEi and dome shaped roof
repeating the sounds with a peculiar
sweetness. North of the Cathedral and
Baptistery is the Campo Santo, an
inclosed corridor containing on its inner
walls many quaint frescoes Of the early
schools. In the eyes of the faithful this
is peculiarly "holy ground" az when the
Crusaders finally abandoned Palestine in
1850 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 sar.
cophagi. Among the frescoes, the
Triumph OF DEATH" of the fourteenth
century, is OF especial interest as show
ing 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 lowly and the
proud; while their souls, represented by
nude infants, issle from their mouths or
bodies. Above ia horde Of demons,
grotesque and hideous forms, who seize
the greater number of the souls and hurry
them away 10 furnace which appears
on the summit of 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 demons and the
struggles are represented in a manner
certainly not calculated to impress the
modern beholder with the solemnty of
the subject.
From Pisa, the railway lies for long
distance along the old Roman road built
by Scaurus more than 100 years before
Christ. We pass many places famous in
history and after 220 miles of travel
reach the Eternal City.
TRAVELLER,