The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-10
SAW THE cAMPANILEF FALL
EXPERIENCE OF A PARTY OF Dos
TONIANs IN VENICE.
Some Interesting Details Concerning
the CaIamity-structure Was
Being Tested.
Ario Bates: in Boston Transcript.

ArlO Bates In Boston Transcript.
The calamity which this morning came
upon Venice in the falling of it's noble
Campanle is one shared by the whole
civilized world. Probably no other tower
in Europe was so well known or so widely
loved. No traveller could think OF Venice
without seeing in inner vision the golden
angel which scared above the Piazza of
s. Marco; and in paintings. engravings,
photographs and mosaics the Campanile
has been familiar TO every land where art
goes.
This morning the sun rose on the golden
angel so splendid above it's nest of bells.
Now unsightly heap of disintegrated
rubbish occupies the place OF the tower and
the golden angel lies PROSTATE at the portal
OF San Marco.
The Campanile, TO give a little guide
book infOrma ton, was founded in SIS, al
though, of course, little trace of the origin
al structure remained visible to our day,
even TO architectural experts. In 1929 re-
building necessary. and brick was used
as before. An architect tells me that upon
a casual examination the fallen bricks ap-
pear to be of the fourteenth century The
square brick tower was in 1417 crowned
with marble top. A hundred years later,
1917, the golden angel nearly fifteen feet
high, was set in it's place. and for almost
four centuries has been the most promi-
nent object i'm Venice
Whichever way one approached the piaz-
"a, the Campanile was always the first OBJ
Ject 10 catch the eye; but it was especially
fine when one came into the great square
through the colOnnade opposite San Marco
Framed by the arch. * stood strong and
noble and splendid, and no traveller who
has seen it is likely ever to forget the
beauty and impressiveness Of the sight
AT its feet the pigeons fiocked by hundreds
and in its shadow every visitor has fed the
! birds, which are so tame that they fly to
the hands and shoulders of anyone who
| offers them corn.
When we arrived at Venice some DAYS
| ago, vorkmen were examining the Cam
| panile. and startling the birds by letting
| fall bits of brick or mortar as they tapped
at the tower in swinging chairs. For a
| couple or weeks the work has been going
| on, and Yesterday Sunday a crack was
| discovered, which the north side ran
half way up near the northeast corner.
THE CROWD WAS WARNED.
| Last evening for some reason there was
but one of the barges of singers on the
| Grand Canal and around it was gathered
| a fOtilla of hundreds of gondolas About
! 10 o'clock in the midst OF d gay song, cry
was raised to break off the music, as the
! King of England was dead. The incident
was most dramatic, and for the time we
| did not doubt the authenticity of the news.
| When We came to our hotel, however. We
learned that on account of the widening Of
| the crack in the Campanile the authorities
| had ordered the band in the piazza 10 stop
| playing. They feared lest the vibration
| should do harm, and for the same reason
| they had discontinued the ringing of bells.
/ Some stupid person had misunderstood the
/ cause Of the stopping of the concert, people
/ had lost their heads, and word had been
/ teIephoned all over the city that the author
/ tiles were paying tribute of respect TO
| England on the death of her sovereign.
We went to the piazza and saw that even
/ by lamplight the crack was distinctly Wis
| ible. The cafes were in full operation,
! hundreds of people were about the Campo
! nile, and had ii fallen then the loss of life
! must have been very large. On saturday
afternoon, il may be remarked in passing,
| the weekly lottery was drawn in the Log
| getta attached to the eastern front OF the
| tower, and. of course, crowd was then
| gathered on the very spot now covered by
! the debris The papers this morning as
| sured the public that the experts had made
careful examinations. and that no danger TO
the Campanile was TO be feared; Efhcient
measure TO protect it from further injury
| had been devised, it was said; an alarm was
| uncalled for.
About half-past nine this forenoon we
| passed the pazzetta, and saw the great
! angel in the high place from which 1t has
| looked for four centuries. In fifteen min
| utes the noble Campanile was a heap of
| ruins We had gone to S. Zaccaria to see
! the wonderful Bellini, but finding the light
/ poor had not remained. Coming out we
| were told that the Campanile had fallen.
The thing seemed prepOsterously incredible,
| but the golden angel had vanished from
the sky line. and people were running mad
| ly toward St. Marks. We took a gondola
| at once and i'm a few minutes landed at
| the plazzetta. Even before on
shore we could the heap Of rubbish
which had been the Campanile. 1t was a
| mass Of bricks and mortar that seemed to
| have been pulverized. 1 had never con-
ceived it possible for a building so COM
pletely to disintergrate The heap of mortar
| and broken brick left when tearing down