The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-06-27
IA HISTORICAL CITY.
ANCIENT PISA AND A FEW OF ITS
FAMOUS BUILDINGS.

One OF the Most Beautiful Caihsdrnls i,
Europe May Ne Found In That City
Where oaiiiei Got tho Notion OF III,
Penduium--A Route with Tunnels.
The route from Genoa to Pisa is over tn
longest underground railroad Of which
have any knowledge. For at least a hun
dred miles OF the distance along the coas
we ran through an almost continuous tun
mel under the high cliffs that look dow
upon the sea. Every now and then, in
deed, we emerge for a moment and get
glimpse OF the blue waters and picturesqu,
sailing craft below, but instantly return
again to utter darkness and to the cavern
Gus echoes that rumble in our ears.
1t Is not pleasant experience, especiall,
for nervous people who ere constantly in /
not unreasonable dread that some detachef
rock may fall upon their heads. At last
as our pathway trends away from tn,
coast, we come out into the open air auf
sunshine. and passing through a fertil,
country, every inch Of which is under full
cultivation, after some five hours the ex
press train, which stops at every station or
the road, arrives at Pisa.
Pisa is one of the most ancient cities nj
Italy, although at present 1t does not offei
30 many Inducements to tourists as dc
many OF the Others But 1t has a history
OF which its more fortunate rivals might
De proud. Founded by Trojan colony, il
was place OF some note in the time OF
homes prosperity, as naval depot. Prob.
ably the navigation of the Arno, on which
1t stands, was less obstructed than It Is
now, for the water is at present very shal.
low, especially in the dry season, and the
passage over the bar where the river enters
the Mediterranean few miles below has
become so impracticable that what little
trade remains is done by means of a canal
from Lcghorn, from which port Pisa il dis.
tant only IL miles
In later times, when the glory of Rome
had departed, Pisa rose to tho dignity of an
independent republic, was very populous.
had large commerce and was particularly
celebrated for Its navy, which often OBJ
tanned the victory over Genoa and other
neighboring states. Its walls were !
miles in circumference. A large standing
army was maintained, for the Pisans were
for long time the rivals of the Floren-
tines. These cities fought many a bloody
battle until in the thirteenth century Pisa
was finally subdued by Florence and be-
came incorporated under tho same govern.
ment
Its palaces, arsenals and warehouses still
remain, but deserted halls and vacant
arches send back their echoes to tell OF
days gone by-such days as they shall never
see again. But the Pisans have not lost
everything, for the monuments of the taste
and lberality Of their ancestors still re-
main, md they may well boast of their uni
versity and library, their magnificent ca
II m IN N tn . he
or, as it is more Familiarity known to every
schoolboy in our land, the Leaning Tower,
The cathedral, baptistery and campanile
are all within few steps of each other.
and though not connected the latter two
are subseryient to the former. The ban.
tistery is what its name implies, as is also
the campanile, the "belfry" They were
built from the proceeds of spoils taken
from the Saracens Mt Palermo in the ven,
lO63. Regarding their victory over the
enemies of the cross as the result of divine
cooperation, they resolved thus to perpet
uate their grateful acknowledgment of
the power to whom they We're so much in
debted, and in the succeeding year the
Archbishop Guido, as appears by one of tho
Inscriptions. laid the cornerstone.
The architect to whom the conception OF
the beautiful cathedral is attributed was
Boschetto, although he seems TO have had
the advice and assistance of others in many
OF the designs, and after his death other
distinguished men, including Michael An
gelo, aided in the completion. Religion
commends itself in various ways to differ
emit minds and hearts. Some of us are liks
the Indians, who can best see God in the
clouds and hear him in the winds, and
some, like our Puritan ancestors, think
that the Almighty delights to dwell in
barns, but even over such men IL feeling OF
religious awe must creep when they enter n
temple like this. The practice of erecting
splendid temples to the Deity, under what
ever name he may be worshiped, has been
common among almost all nations from
the remotest periods of history. Aside from
the advantages posterity has derived from
them as noble works of art, religion has
found its way by such means into many a
heart that would otherwise have been desti
tute of its sacred influences, and amid the
nights of darkness that have shrouded the
world they have treasured within them the
light ngain destined to break out and brinr
forth Il new day.
Who can doubt that the holy temple Mt
Jerusalem contributed as much as the com.
mandments OF Moses to the maintenance
Tor centuries of that pure theism on which
Christianity is built? 1t was to erect its
hallowed walls that the people laboreG by
night and day, and to preserve the pile 80
dear to them they guarded their city with
felseess vigilance, and when that city was
AT last destroyed they fiocked around the
temple, and in defense of it and of their re
ligion they freely shed their blood.
do not know why this cathedral of Pisa
has impressed me more than many others
of greater magniticence that | have seen
unless the secret of it Is to be found in the
exquisite symmetry Of its proportions. Its
affairs, pillars, rich mosaic pictures, paint
ings, frescoes and gldings all harmonic
and delight the eye wherever it is turned
1t is the perfection of architecture and
graceful beauty. Yet there is one old
bronze chandelier which strangely con
trasts with everything around it, but it has
a history of Its own. Galilei was once
walking across the floor of the cathedral
and his eye happened to rest upon this
at the moment when a work
man, who was employed there, by chance
touched it with ladder. The vibration
which ensued gave the philosopher his first
notion of the pendulum.-Co New York
Tirnas
ADWCES FROM HONOLULU.
Annexationists and Royaiists Disappointed