Norwich bulletin., 1915-06-08
CONCERT ACADEMY ORCHESTRA Friday Evening, June 11th
 Slater Memorial
 Admission 25c
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

Brona-"Tmmediately inside the
 Italian border below the Austrian city of Trent, lies the wealthy, ancient city
 of Verona, an important railway cen
 ter a treasury of art, a museum of splendid remains from Roman times through all Italian periods, and al together one of the most beautiful and interesting cities of northern Italy" according to the geographic statement issued by the National Geographic So- ciety today which deals with the most recent of hostile frontiers in Europe. Verona is a fortress of the first class" the statement continues, and one of the foremost military centers toward the Austrian frontier. In peace times a garrison of more than 5000
 men is stationed here, and here are
 located the administration offices of Italy's 3rd Army Corps.
 Verona is less than 10 miles dis tant from the Austrian frontier. from that part of the Austrian Tyrol that projects as a deep wedge into the north Italian hill country. It lies Fl miles west of Venice by rail and 93 miles
 east of Milan, another great north
 ern railway center. on Eboth banks of the rapid Adige River. It isl 194 feet above sea level, with the main and old CT part of the city lying within an | abrupt loop made by the river. The
 
 urbs, is about S0,000. The main rail-
 way lines from Modena and Mantau to Trent and BoZen, and from Venice to Milan cross the city. The Verona, Venice, Portogruaro line parallels the Austrian frontier and has many strat- | egic branches of much the same value to the Italians in their present strug- 1 gle as the Posen- -Tilsit line is to the | Germans in their defense of their eastern frontier.
 Verona must be the immediate ob- l jective of any invasion from the Tren- i tino salient. From Verona west. the | trunkline railway leads through a rich | industrial and farming region to the great northern towns of Milan and Turin. To the east lies Venice and | to the south are a constellation of | thriving manufacturing towns. The | frontier before Verona is strongly for l tified, both on the Italian and Austrian | sides. In recent years, wide-flung ] circle of forts. far outside of the ob- | solete city walls, were begun as @ new
 scheme for the city's defense. The | building of these redoubts raised Yer ona to the position of a fortress of | first rank.
 "The beginnings of the Veronese for | tifiCations that still remain standing | today date from 1527, when Verona
 was surrounded with new walls and bastions by Sanmicheli. Following | the Congress of Vienna, Verona fell to
 Austria's share, and the Austrians caused the city to be strongly forti- | lied. The Austrians further fortified | Peschiera. Mantua, and Legnago, for- | ming the famous QuadrilateraP, upon | which powerful series of fOrtresses
 the Austrian rule in Italy relied for it's | principal support until 1866. Verona
 is the key position to northern Italy. | Both prosperous and progressive,
 the city has multiplied it's industrial
 endeavor many times during the last
 score years. Today there are large l paper and cotton mills in the city, an | immense nail factory, and piano and organ factories. There is, also, a sig
 rificant manufacture of war muni- 1 tionS Centered here, extensive artillery l establishments, and important arsen- | als. Among the other more import | ant manufactures are silks soap, can
 dies and sugar. Verona had a large
 and growing Hungary, Switzerland,
 and Germany. It exported wines, rice
 and marble, and, twice each year it 1 held a noted horse market.
 | "A city of wonderful art works, of
 weather stained, white marble palaces,
 often richly sculptured and sometimes | showing the worn. evidences of sump- | tuous paintings, with impressive, we'll | preserved ruins from the days of be- l fore the Christian era, Verona has ] somewhat the appearance of luxurious | dacay, with which a confident, push
 ing, success1breathing spirit of the i last few years has contrasted sharply. | The museums, picture galleries, i- | braries. and ancient churches of Yer l ona teem with rare treasures. Verona | was the birthplace of the famous Ro-
 mans, Catullus, Cornelius Nepos, Pliny
 the Younger, and Vitruvius."