Bisbee daily review., 1908-02-14

ROME, Feb. i3.-Destruction threat ems the walls of Lucca, once deemed an impregnable defence. Destruction threatens the walls of Rome, which have defied the assaults of time and barbarians.
 The walls Of Lncca took century to build, from 1544 to 1645, A score of the most celebrated military engineers of the time directed the construction, and they cost a million scudi. The best artillery was used to test their strength and solidity, and after each trial they were altered and partly re- built until they were rendered per feet and impregnable, and such they were admitted to be by the celebrated Vauban
 Naturally as a modern fortification the walls of Lucca are useless, but as they have remained intact for about three centuries one might suppose that no effort would be spared for their future careful preservation. Yet these
 old historic walls which form the chief attraction of Lucca today seem
 now doomed to disappear, and even if saved from being pulled down alto gether they will gradually be reduced to ruins.
 The municipality of Lueca proposed
 in 1905 te open a breach in the walls for the passage cf a tramway line.
 The inhabitants of modern Italian
 towns are in the habit of disregard ing everything relating to the past
 provided that by so doing they are enabled to obtain what the call mod ern Improvements. Lucca is a small and sleepy place, and tramways would be entirely out of place in 1t. Still.
 as larger towns had tramwas Lucca
 wanted tramway too
 The question became one of nationai prominence. The Ministry of Public
 Instruction opposed the proposal to
 make a breach in the walls; the
 municipality protested that the walls ware the property Of the city and hence the people were at liberty to
 do as they pleased. Carducci, the poet: Puccini, the composer, who is
 native of Lucca; Boni, Pascoh and other men prominent in kterature, archaeolog and art added their oppo- sition to the governments and the walls were saved.
 Only for a short time, however. The
 desire to have a tramway has evident ! ly been forgotten by the good people
 of Lucca, but not that to rip open their
 old walls. Instead of tramway this
 time it Is a suburb and instead of a ] breach gate is demanded.
 The suburb is called Sant' Anna and consists Of a few farmhouses. Its in [ habitant do not exceed a couple of | thousand, but it is held ythe muni- i cipal authorities that they would in, crease and the suburb would become | m industrial center were the dis
 tance between it and the town dimin- 1 ished. The walls are in the way, oi course, so the municipality proposes i to open a gate, a new gate only two hundred yards away from the old one of San Donate, and thus afford a short
 cut to the inhabitant of Sant' Anna. It has been pointed out that as the
 new gate will be further away from
 the market in all probability the old existing one will continue to be pre- ferred, but that does not seem to mat ter. The government opposes the
 project, prominent men are writing ] against it, but the municipality of ucca insists on the new gate.
 One fine day the gate will be opened, other gates leading to equally insig-
 nificant suburbs and hamlets will fol- l low, and the unique belt of masonry 1 that now /surrounds the old town will gradually disappear and be, left to crumbIe to ruin and dust, which seems to be the inevitable fate of every
 ancient monument in Italy.
 Lucca has set the example to Rome, where the new popular and democratic
 municipality, led by man of rowing life and composed of Socialists and Republicans, few of whom are gen
 uine Roman citizens, is eager to de- strOy the old in o-der to make room