Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-12-25
R0MB HAvOCSEEN
IN CITY OF VENICE
,.socIafed Press Correspondent De-
scribes Rims Of Famous Church
OF the Scalgi.

Venice, 1aly.-(Correspondencs of
The Associated Preas)-An opportunity
;, ace the destructive effect Of the
honb raids on Venice was given re-
..,,lv to the Associated Press, when
81 inspection under official escort was
oa4e Of the havoc and ruin in the fam
~. old church Of the scalzi. one of the
ar monuments Of the world. now
.-sck with its roof blown off. it's
..aeslye walls lettering. and the fam
-, calling fresco by Tiepolo, valued
sta million francs, lying In heaps Of
/ -sbb,sh In the ruins Of the building.
rhsre have been three bomb raids G,
rsoies but this was the worst, and
~ historic church bore the full brunt
Of #.
!. ,nnroaching the massive edifice one
..ss gaping hole in the roof, extend
l.. from front to rear The facade,
,.sn,ing the Grand canal, is intact. and
SCZlH-AAf4 AE A&S5
.Iong the cornice remain untouched. /
On, hack Of the figures the roof says
.vsv IN 4 curved line downward and
,ben up again to the rear wall, as
though some giant had had reached
DOWN and torn out the whole top of
,ha church. leaving only the front and
tho rIckety side walls still intact. |
workmen can be seen high above be-
shining the work Of salvage and re-
rsjr and heavy timbers are being
nlaced across the gaping hole left by
the bomb
Entering the historic church a scene
# havoc and ruin is presented-twist-
al beams ana arches, panels and col
INNS Of alabaster crushed into bits
and lying around in heaps, the richly
carved pulpit blown to pieces with
only faint outline Of its former won
ders remaining. and above. the roof
vide open 10 the sky, with the Won
derful frescos Of Tiepolo dumped in
I huge masses Of debris on the stone
pavement Faint edges of the grand
Old ireseoS sun e'ins TO the sue vans
giving SOME ''e" Va ''ie 'elu''eS u me
work torn away Six enormous arches
sDanned the edidca meeting in the
/ middle and giving an intervening
space for these frescoes. Not a vestige
remains Of the main subject, the visit
Of the Virgin to Loretto, containing
hundreds OF biblical ana aiIegorlcai ng-
lIes' 'he ragged euseS showing only
cloud e1eels anu ihe pa'hsfouiid Win
lie" ngtfes. Inc high ai'af. with
spiral aia5asJef columns ana rlch
decorations, is not touched, ana an
other curious feature is that the cleo
TIE candies elrciing The church are
andis,urbed. the electric bulbs shining
as brightly as ever. But with these
Two e&cepuohs-'Ae Hlsh altar lar IN
ine rear ana the c'Fcllng candies
everything is q ruin, frescoed ceiling,
inlaid marble sidewalks, sculptures.
eolIessioHais. memorials tablets, bap-
lstTy and marble mosaic pavement
all lying about in fragments,
It was about II o'clock in the morn
ing when the explosion occurred. This
was the busy hour, when the gon-
doias We're cro"ding the Grand canal,
ana the |eaeuao5 we're shopping and
marketing suddenly a single mono
pane was seen in the norther sky,
coming from the direction Of the Aus
TRAN frontier It was flying very high
= about $500 meters. People at first
did not recognize this spec as an en-
envy bent on destruction. Soon how
ever the steam syren at the arsenal
: gave long Ta'i-the signal Of warn
,ns-and the people scattered to Gel
iafS ana any available cover. The areo-
pane vas now in full view, heading
Straight for the big railway station Of