Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-01
ST. MARKS FALLEN cAMpAN1LE
Nothing Done Yet Toward Rebuilding
| Venice's Great Tower.

From the London Globe.
The party intrigues which have been Wig
orously carried on ever since the CampaniIe
fell by the supporters of those who then
were turned out of Office have once more
succeeded. First Commentators Bonf. dis
couraged by the difficulties thrown In his
path, retired to carry his more congen-
ial work among the excavations of the
Forum; and now Commentators Beltrami
has followed his example. Against Signor
Bonls advice the authorities left the great
base of the tower standing instead of I'M
building it all down to the level of the nile
heads, and they insisted that Signor Bel
trami should build the new CampaniIe upon
this old base. AS every stone and block of
this base is rounded and slippery and dam
aged with age. there Is absolutely nothing
for the new building to hold grip Of and 1t
would be impossible to bind them together
1t would only keep in place by its own
weight, and having nothing to rivet 1t down
to the foundations, it would topple over at
the first shake Of earthquake Besides this
the very consistence of the old plaster is
such as to prevent the new part from unit
ing with It Plaster in early Venetian
times was simply mixture of lime and
sand. and the continual oozing up into the
foundations of water. with the rise and fall
or the tides, has in the course of so MANY
centuries washed all away-both lime and
sand-and the stones only stood in place
because there was nowhere for them to go
to. as all was held in place by the sur
rounding mud and earth.
= 1t Is true that no defect in the founda-
tons caused the fall but to build up a new
tower on them as they are would be very
serious mistake; and it was this that Signor
Beltramf, when he came to full knowledge
or the condition of things below ground re-
fused to do, and which caused him first to
go to the country for his health" and now
finally to resign altogether. The intriguing
party has cleared the ground, but it is re-
to
dertake the work, now that the condition of
things is visible to ALL We were down in
the great trench round the base this morn
Ing, and from the excavation dug into its
mass was issuing a flowing stream of
water All work has been stopped, and
everything in the matter is, as an official
said today, confusion worse COMPOUNDED"
Meantime, In the digging round the spot
many things of interest have come to light.
All along the side of the trench toward
SanSovino'S Library thick wall of founda-
ton stones has been laid bare, which, from
their position and from historical records
turn out to be those of an ospizio, or hos
pital. built by the sanity old Doge Orseolo,
about 976. The level of these foundations
is considerably higher than those of the
Campanile. showing that these were of a
much earlier date, and that in Doge Orse-
o1o's time the soil had already risen. This
also goes to prove the truth of the idea that
the Campanile had existed as watch
tower long before it was used as the bell
tower of st. Marks. One Of Doge Orseolo's
stones now rests in our hall.
Another interesting discovery, at the
northwest corner of the excavation at a
still greater depth, were stakes and waffle
work which had once lined a canal bank
In the time of the first lagoon inhabitants,
before the invasion Of the Huns sent the
jewellers on the mainland to seek safety
among these watery wastes. Their waffle
work was the original from which so many
beautiful designs were taken for decora-
tons of vases and for carving in marble
in the eighth and ninth centuries and
which, indeed. are found, l believe, in all
parts Of the globe. This wattle-work, to-
gether with other interesting objects found,
is being carefully preserved in the ducal
palace.