The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-26
SEARCH FOR THE MEDIEVAL.
Luck Of a New Yorker Who Fled to
a Forgotten Italian Town.

The world has grown SO small and so
strenuous, said the architect who has a
reputation, that it's getting 10 he A
pretty difficult job for a man to get far
This last winter, however, I felt that !
had TO do it.
Il was nearly worked out. anyway, and
had just finished three or four commits
slOns for the most grasping. sOrdid-mind-
ed crowd Of men I'd met I'm a long time.
New York was torn up and dirty and
noisy and unblusning-and one day with
out warning / packed up my household
and took a steamer for Italy.
AS soon as I got my family settled in
Rome 1 bade them gOOdby. Even Rome
was too strenuous and modern for the
state Of mind l was in. 1 wanted TO get
somewhere where 1 could forget that
there had ever been such a thing as the
nineteenth century. to say nothing Of the
twentieth. / wanted to go back a thou
sand years or two and soak myself in
medievalism.
No railroads for me. I slung KNAPP
sack on my back and set out afoot into
the hills. BY the time I had left Rome
ten miles behind my mind began to grow
easier
Each succeeding mountain village was
more attracttvely primitive than the last
Signs Of the world outside, of progress,
science, Improvement and such machine
made things grew beautifully less until
they ceased altogether But still I went
on, 1 wished TO take no chances. 1 wanted
my medievalism undefiled.
Then I came to SUbiaco on the Teve-
rome and knew that it was the place I
had been looking for The village is only
some thirty odd miles from Rome, but
the world had simply passed it by and
forgotten il.
ITS houses and people and streets
seem to be today exactly as they were al
the beginning Of the Christian era. The
place had perhaps 5000 or 1000 inhabl-
10 1rrarr e-rr~a NOR
residence OF the popes, the remaiaG OF a
villa of Nero and a monastery that was
founded in the fifth century.
II found a time worn hosiery and pro-
ceeded to soak in medieYalism. can.
tell you how restful and invigOrating il
was. 1 sketched and loafed, and went
through the popes palace and poked
around the ruins Of Nero villa. Then
visited the monastery.
The old boy 10 whom applied for adj
mission was cordial enough and he
showed me over the ancient buildings
from top TO bottom. 1t was an interesting
trip. They had carvings and llluminauons
and furniture and books and manuscripts
and relics collected through 1,500 years,
some almost as old as the monastery it.
self.
1T was like walking bodily back fifteen
centuries. The monks themselves looked
as though they were 1000 years old at
least, and the gap which separated me
from them. buried away there in medieval
oblivion. seemed incredible
Finally. after I had seen all the treas
ures Of the place, my guide led me TO a
sort of small office, and getting down a
small record book, explained that the Wis
itors 10 the monastery were so few that
they were anxious TO preserve the names
and addresses Of the rare travellers who
wandered in from the outside world.
Il said I would gladly register my
name and he handed me a rusty quill pen
As I was trying TO write with it ] noticed
for the first time the oldest monk ] had
seen yet, sitting in a corner Of the room
He had jolly, wringled old face. and a
white beard that flowed TO his waist. He
was gazing at me with curious interest
and It was quite apparent TO me that he
regarded me somewhat as We would re-
gard a visitor from Jupiter
AS I finished writing he got Up, wad-
died over, and putting on d big pair OF
/ spectacles, peered at my name and New
York address Then he turned TO m'
beaming and held out his hand.
All, he said, how are they getting
on with the subway
when I came to learned that he had
been a priest in Long Island City fol
some thirty-five years, and had gOn'
] back to Italy 10 spend his remaining
days"