The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-02-07
lettering Historical Piles

been placed in position and the church
has been closed to the public pending
repairs San Giovanni Paolo the Frari
and other churches are likewise in the
hands of the restorers.
AS regards the Campanile itself, the
work of rebuilding will probably have to
be suspended during the winter months
Piles have been sunk within the perimeter
of the old foundations. In few weeks
the work will be completed on one of the
four sides, and then the commission will
decide whether the old basement, en-
larged and strengthened, will be able
to sustain the weight of the new colossus
Sassovino's gem of dainty architecture.
the Loggetta, once the rendezvous of the
Venetian mobiles, and later the waiting
room of the guards, which was swept
away by the falling giant. was veritable
storehouse of sculptured masterpieces
Sassovino's wonderful bronze figures of
Apollo, Mercury, Palas and Peace are to
be recast from the carefully collected
fragments by the Chevalier Mlnoretti.
The same sculptor terra Gotta
Madonna, which has been shattered into
about 1000 fragments. was handed over
to Commentators Pietro lei, the con-
servator of the Florence Museum, who
with incredible patience and skill has
united the countless pieces so that the
statue is ready to be replaced in its michel
as soon the building is completed.
Gais bronze gate one of the proudest
possessions of the venetians, was found
under the ruins, twisted but only with
one of the top lions broken, so that it can
easily be repaired.
The Doges' Palace.
The Palace of the Doges, on which so
many succeeding generations of architects
have expended the best of their efforts,
10
ever and anon new parts are found that
require strengthening and repairing. At
the present moment the corner fronting
the Ponte della Pagla and Rio de Sospri
is being radically overhauled
Even the pictorial decoration of the
Doges Palace has to be saved from the
ravages of time. Tintoretto's wonderful
Paradise picture nearly eighty feet
in length. had to be taken from the wall
Of the Great Council Hall, task the ac-
complishment of which offered enormous
difficulties, and now Prof Giovanni Zen
naro is busily backing this gigantic work
with fresh canvas. The commission for
this picture was originally given to Paola
Veronese, who, however, died before he
had completed even his sketches. Tinto-
retto was then the only Venetian painter
who was considered capable of undertake
ing so great a task. But his old age pre-
vented him from scaling the ladders to
give the last touches after the picture had
been placed in position, so that he had to
employ his son. while he stood below and
superintendent the work The Paradise
is considered Tintoretto's supreme MASTER
piece, and it's destruction would indeed
have been an irreparable loss.
In Venice, among those who know, the
opinion prevails that funds should be
more literally provided by the government
to maintain artistic treasurers which are
unique and form the patrimony of the
world; and that, considering the special
conditions of the Venice subsoil, a man
of really eminent technical capacity
should be placed at the head of the archi-
tectural government and municipal offices.
Now that it appears that the whole city
of Venice. the lovliest city of the world, Is
threatened new effort should be made
to assist the Italian government is task
which will require an enormous outlay Of
capital. The Queen of the Adriatic. an
Italian town, geographically and polite
ally. belongs to the world, to everyone
whose mind is to be impressed by art
and beauty. Many are the travellers who
have spent happy hours on the canals
and squares of Venice, and whoever has
been there cannot hut retain tender
memory Of his visit; he will not fail to
contribute his mite toward the preservar
] ton of so much JovelinesA