Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-07
MILAN CATHEDRAL.
Danger in the Rust of Few Iron
Bolts.

From the Boston Transcript
The fall of tie Campanile of St. Mark. in
Venice, set the Italians to examining all
their towers anxiousiy. Many of them
were found marked with all the symptoms
of dangerous decay, and were promptly re-
paired and restored.
Anon g. those was the pinnacle of the
Milan ruomo, which had caused probably
the most alarm of all. Those appointed to
examine it learned that large amount of
danger lurked in the rust of few iron
bolts. These being replaced by bronze and
some fifty blocks of marble being pried
back Into plumb. the pinnacle was left to
weather more centuries of wind, rain and
sun. But future jeopardy from wind and
sun, and even from earthquake has not
been forgotten The workers who repaired
the pinnacle suspended from it, before leav
ing, a tefltale seismograph designed by
Prof. Vicentini of the Padua University. A
heavy rod some eighteen meters long is SO
hung that its delicate oscillations are a
perpetual witness to the state of the PIN
nacle and the continuance of its stability.
For one thing. hardly had this instrument
been installed when it marked an interest
ing phenomenon-the daily inclination of
the pinnacle, caused by the heating action
of the sun upon it and upon the entire
building.
This enforced examination of the pin
nacle raised anew the problem of the
some little while that the browning of the
front, hastily executed with inferior ma
terials between 1905 and 1913, is beginning
, to crumble away. For three centuries there
has bobbed up and down like cork on the
waters of Italian opinion the question of
whether the whole front of the church
should be, rebuilt entire or conserved as 1t
is now. Numberless plans, for the front
have been devised, from the first of Vim
senzo Sereeui, in 1887, to that of Abate
Zanoja. chosen by the will of Napoleon
But hardly had the piazza in front OF the
ediffce been enlarged than 1t became ap-
parent that it was not majestic enough.
One patron of art and admirer of the
duomo, Signor de Togni, having left a
large legacy in 1888 for the renewal OF the
facade, an international competition was
opened to secure the best design for this
NOUS purpose An Italian named Brentano
won the prize, out of 14S competitors But
and here came complication man
died within a year after the favorable 1udg-
ment.
This death of the chosen architect
strengthened the already prevalent trend
of conservative opinion which leaned to-
ward leaving the present lnharmonlous
facade as it is, since many portions OF II
are. after all, of high artistic value. But
even as the death of the reforming archi-
tect pointed toward the advisaolnty OF
leaving matters in status quo, announcer
natural event now strongly urges 1mme-
date rebuilding. That is the discovered
decay of the browning. committee Oh
architects, nominated last year. accoru,
ingly acted with promptitude and designed
a browning that could be finished by 1914
and that would harmonize with the Whoie
of the facade when it finally IS renoue si =.
This design proposes to leave the peSt pa pa
of the facade-the base of it with the five
Snors of PeIlegrini-untouched. The ulti-
mate plan is to substitute for the fass ;b es
tail in the space Intervening between these
dnnrs and the browning a row of tail ma
iestic windows. -,
While the work of replacing the present
browning will be undertaken very soon, the. the
rabm;lding of the whole front is not likely
~ ha begun for another century. For not
,ntiI then will the $4,000 lire. left for the
nurnose by Comte Resta, have reached the
required amount. So the churchs purity o.
architecture must wait patiently as 1t can
mon the growth Of it's finances