The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-23
Week-End
 NeUs ofRon7e
Vi lssisf.l l ia xE .M V ks Aaasan
BY A. c. PEARcE.

of the city and of no little concern to the outside world Rome, as Is we'll
 known, Is all too small for It's present population. The distress. arising from
 the want of houses, suffered not only
 by the poorest classes, but also by the very numerous class of small employees
 and clerks, has reached a very acute
 stage. The construction Of new quar-
 ters on large scale has become ab- ,soiutely necessary. Naturally these
 new constructions should follow some
 predetermined plan in order that the
 new city should improve and not in-
 jure the old. Such plane have been
 made from time to time and have cul-
 minated In q general scheme which
 seems to be approved on all sides. But
 1t is difdcult to make new populous quarters without some alterations in
 the old streets which give their access to the city; consequently in all these plans for improvement there are also
 schemes for wider roads in the city It. self The reforming zeal, however, of
 the present Roman municipality re-
 fuses to be content with the building of houses and insists upon pulling down the old quarters inside the city
 before 1t begins to build now quarters outside.
 Nero. when he contemplated the ifn-
 provement of the city, started by burn Ing 1t down. The present Syndic,
 Signof Nathan, who regards the old
 tortuous. and some times dirty, streets
 with theSs same eye of disfavor, seems
 also to entertain much the same view as to the best meth ods of procedure. At
 this moment, there are hundreds of inc
 ilabltants who are homeles, and
 thousands who are miserably lodged. In
 answer to their cry of distress. the
 Town Council of Rome proposes to add to their number by pulling down
 some hundreds more of houses Then,
 when the work of destruction Is fair-
 the City Fathers will consider the
 question of building something for the inhabitants to live in.
 The New Plans. There seems to be no reason why the new quarters proposed in the former
 schemes for housing the population,
 should not have been begun long ago. Signor Nathan and his friends, how ever. have determined to have a new
 scheme of their own. The whole story of the Piano Regolatore." as the plan for building New Rome is termed. is characteristic of the municipal meth ods. They chose for its author e
 Sardintan engineer living In Milan, of the name of Saint Just. Possibly 1t was the revolutionary sound of the name which particualriy commended him to the favor of Signor Nathan:
 otherwise 1t would be hard1to account for the selection of a man who could
 have little knowledge of Rome and its
 people Signor Saint Just, who seems
 to be a very conscientious and honest gentleman, besides being an excellent
 much of Rome, and confessed that he
 knows nothing of It's antiquities. He
 asked to be advised by proper experts
 wherever it was question of dealing
 with buildings of historic or artistic interest. That, however, was. not the
 municipal way of proceeding. The
 plan must be made first and altered, if
 necessary, afterwards. As a matter
 of fact, 1t was not submitted to the
 archaeological and artistic advisers of
 the Town Council until two weeks ago,
 the day before the. Council itself began
 to aiscuss It. The Commission Art and Archaeology objected strongly to al-
 most every detail of the scheme which was concerned with Improvements within tho walls of the city. Their ob- lection does not seem to disturb the equanimity of the Town Council. which is. nevertheless, sereneiy engaged in
 discussing the plan today. It Is earn estly to be hoped that public opinion in Rome may come to the support of It's
 archaeologists and artists and per-
 snadeF the municipality to abandon the
 
 and concern themselves only with the plans for constructing new houses and quarters outside; plans, by the way,
 which follow much the same lines as
 the old and already approved scheme. The two portions of Signor saint Just's Plano Regolatore" can be perfectly well separated, and while there is q crying need for the one, there Is none
 whatever for the other.
 The Pfmn Evolved.
 To do him justice the plan evolved | by Signor Saint Just, even within the walls might be a great deal worse,
 But 1t contains 8 good many projects which, from an artistic point of view,
 are as deplorabIe as they are unnec-
 essary There are four; at least, to which the Commission of Art and Arch
 'aeology have good reason to object. There is the destruction of the old Via I dei Coronari. in order to make a wide road from the Corsa Umberto, past the | Piazza di Navona, to the Corsa Vtt- | torio Emanuele where 1t reaches the river. The Coronari is dirty and nar- row; but 1t is also filled with old Quattro Cento houses which have an
 architectural interest of their own. It could be cleaned, and the interior Of | the houses could be restored and made more habitable. There is no need for
 c wider street as very little trafnc
 goes through 1t.
 The demolition of an extensive group of houses in the neighb orhood of the l Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorenttni
 Is next proposed. Here again are houses of artistic and architectural | interest built in a period which Is now scantily represented in Rome. These houses also could be gradually restor- ed and made more habitable. In any case it would seem undesirable to add to the misery of the houseless by turn ing some hundreds more into the streets With regard to the destruc- ton in two places of the covered gall | lery which runs from the Castle of St. l Angelo to the Vatican. as there are ample openings and arches for traffic through this gallery there seems no reason whatever for injuring con- struction of unique historical interest. Historic Arches.
 Built in 1277 by Nicholas III. as 1 safe means of retreat from the Ponti- fical Palace to its fortified castle in the event of popular rising-a use
 to which 1t was actually put by Clem-
 ent VII when in 1527 Rame was at 1 tackled by the Constable of Bourbon this passage was kept in careful repair | by later Popes, and, in 1862, was | strengthened and beautlfed by Plus ". who opened in 1t number of arches, still surmounted by the arms | of the Bedici. in order to facilitate the | trafic with the Leorine city. Though | the Porta Angelica and the Porta Cas- | telio. the one built and the other res
 tored by Plus W. at the same time | were pulled down in 1870. tho passage ! afiI ir "a