Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1904-03-31
Impressions of Italy.

Leipsic, Germany.
The trip can be made with the
railroad in twenty six hours; and
it carries you from the low plains
Iof Leipsic up into the Eastern
Alps 4495 feet above the sea-
level, then down into the valley
of the Adige River, which emp
ties into the Adriatis Sea.
Your first impression reaching
Italy in the spring time, as you
come from the cold regions Of
Northern Europe, is that of pleas
| ing warmth and sunshine.
Somewhat north Of the mouth
of the Adige and in bay of the
Adriatic, we find Venice, built
chiefly on piles and standing
upon III small islands, which
are separated from each other by
canals.
Here instead of cabs rafting
over stone pavements and street
cars rushing by, you see black
gondolas gliding along and small
steamboats, cutting through the
light green water. The main
street is the Grand Canal, which
is shaped like big inverted IS"
and stretches from the railway
station in that part of the city
near the coast, to the side toward
the sea.
Like period to the "S" is the
large square of st Mark s, which
forms one of the chief attractions
to the visitor.
The most important building
here is the Cathedral of ST. Mark,
a splendid piece of architecture
in the Byzantine style; very
prominent are its five domes, one
in the centre and four around it
at equal distances from the centre
and from each other.
In the interior the ceiling is
/ decorated with mosaics, which
present the appearance of a gol-
den background, on which reli-
gious scenes stand out in many
, different colors.
To the right of the cathedral is
the palace of the Doges or Rulers
who were in control, while Venice
was in the zenith of her glory
; this was at the time when she wa.
, the gateway between Asia and
Western Europe, and it LASTED
until the period of the discovery
; of America and of the water route
to India.
: The interior of the palace is
) richly fitted up with marble deco
rations and with paintings. In i
is museum, and one of the in.
! teresting things we find there il
, a map of the world made by E
! monk between 1857 and 1859.
such a map was no doubt used il
teaching geography, when Co
lumbus was a boy, and you seeE
in vain for your native country
In the rear of the palace is q
closed stone bridge, leading over
q canal into the prison, and, as
prisoners who crossed over never
returned, it was known as the
bridge of signs.
On the square in front of these
buildings, nicely dressed people
of the city are to be seen, and
around them fly the pigeons OF
! Venice, which are so tame that
they light upon the hands, Shout
ders and heads of whoever may
be feeding them.
The distance from Venice to
| Florence can be covered in six
.thours and half; and two inter-
esting stretches of country are
| crossed. The first rs the valley
region of the two rivers, which
are the most important of those
! in Italy flowing into the Adriatic :;
the Adige, which flows down from
the Eastern Alps, and the Pc,
which partly drains the southern
slope of the Western Alps and
the northern side of the Appe-
mines. Signs of irrigation, fer
tility aad systematic agriculture
meet your eye on every side.
The next region is the wild
mountainous district of the Appe-
mines. Small streams may be
seen leaping down precipices, and
huge boulders rear their heads
in the air. Over the rocky hill
sides nature has thrown in many
places but a scanty covering of
grass and shrubbery.
Quite contrast to this is seen,
when you descend into the fertile
valley of the Arno river. Here
signs of cultivation, the vegeta-
BILE, the blooming flower and the
peach blossom, strike your eye.
| On the banks of the Arno nest
led at the foot of the hills, lies the
city of Florence.
In its centre, higher than any
other building, rises the dome OF
the cathedral. The exterior of
this church is decorated with mar
bic of many different colors, and
the combination gives a most
pleasing effect. So
One of the chief attractions of
Florence is its association with
the name of Michael Angelo, the
sculptor, architect and painter.
Here is his home, which still con-
tains relics of his time: here
you find many of his works; here
he spent a good part OF his 80
years, and here you find his tomb
in one of the old churches.
The picture galleries of this