Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-11
PALACE OF THE DOGES
EXAMINATION AND REPAIR
SOME INTERESTING DISCOVERIES
Marciano Library Removed Because Of
the Dangerous Condition Of
the Building.

Venice Correspondence Of the London Globe.
The Italian proverb 'Tutto male non
viene per miocere'' (Not every evil comes
to do us harm), is certainly most true as
regards the present state Of matters in
Venice. Had not the fall Of the Campanile
attracted attention to the condition of the
other artistic and historical treasures that
are the pride of Italy still worse, indeed,
irreparable damage would have been done.
Careful examination by new men appointed
by the government commission showed
that the Doge's palace was in a most dan
gerous condition; SO much SO that, as all
know. the immediate removal of the great
MarcianO library was not only ordered, but
also, wonderful to relate. carried out. For
the convenience Of students the books most
general In use were transferred to the
Nicoletto Chapel, which divides st. Mark 8
from the ducal palace court, and the chapel
and some adjacent chambers were trans
formed into a temporary library and read
ing rooms. The rest of the volumes were
then carried across to the ground floor Of
the zecca, the new seat Of the Marciano,
which is rapidly being prepared for it's re-
ception. Thus the Marciano returns to it's
birthplace, for Petrarch's books. bequeathed
by him to the republic, and which formed
the nucleus Of the present priceless collec-
ton, first found houseroom in a portion of
that building, and it was to give that nu-
beautiful building wrecked by the fall Of
the Campanile. was erected.
Weight Of the Books.
Meantime, the ducal palace, being light
ened of the tremendous weight Of the
books and there being SO much to attend
to throughout the city. matters were being
allowed to rest, and but for the energetic
persistence of the vice director of the
works, the architect, Signor Ongaro, Of
whose clever work on the Frari Church
wrote last year, irretrievable disaster to the
building would in all human probability
have occurred. He insisted upon at once
removing all the bOokshelves and wood
work which covered the walls so as to see
and to touch the walls themselves. and thus
to make sure Of their real condition. He
was strongly opposed. There were so many
other things to dol But he persevered. and
hall after hall was stripped and Quilted, with
the result that 1t was discovered that the
whole corner toward the Bridge of Signs
that called 1.-The Fig Tree angle'-and q
good part of the facade toward the Rio
Canonica were in deplorable condition.
Windows had been cut and doorways
made without any regard to what that part
waited where there should rather have been
put buttresses, and bowling walls were held
up by iron tiec, that by rusting did but add
to the damage they were supposed TO re-
pair Then another danger was discovered,
though one would have thought that 1t was
patent to all; but all who look do not see
People who knew Venice twenty years ago
will remember what a pleasure 1t was to us
all to see the five or six last arches Of the
porticos at the Fig Tree angle liberated
from the ugly masonry with which they
were closed in, and which were. in truth, a
terrible blot on the l0veliness of the sea-
front facade. No doubt 1t was a great gain
to beauty, but perhaps 1t was not very
wise Improvement, for the iron ties. which
were supposed to do the same work. pass
from each column. not into a massive WALL
but into a mere brick partition. and the out
ward pressure Of the mass of masonry on
the columns is pulling the bricks through
which the ties pass out of the wall. There
is no doubt, think. that the whole "sea
story" as Ruskin calls 1t, was free and
open-the whole palace standing on four
series of arches and columns as one sees
In Moorish buildings. In later years the
outer arches were walled of to form cham
bers of the remaining inner ones. One now
angle were walled up serious damage had
already appeared.
Radical Repairs.
The repairs that are now being made