The Monticellonian., 1915-12-30

war days is there much use for such. It suftiees if we can quicken the mem ories Of some of our readers or stimu- late the interest of others by our ran dom remarks. The former class will not need to be more than reminded of the famous group of tombs of the Scaligers, over which Ruskin used to pour forth his eloquent admiration in glorious flood. Right in the busiest part of the city they stand. close to the Piazza dei Signeri and yet closer to Santa Maria fAntiea, which was the parish church of the family in the days Of it's relative obscurity. Whence they came. these Scaligers, We know not, but they leaped into fame. two Of them. by having their heads cut of in 1251. and four years later their kinsman, Mastino. was elected captain of the people. Mastino in turn was duly mur- dered, and his sarcophagus is the earli- est of the group-a plain affair like those Of his immediate successors of the name. But with Gan Grande l tor Great Dog No. Il della Scala We come to gentleman who was magnificent in his ideas. his ways of living, and, to the best of his opportunities, in his tomb. That considerable three-storied edifce forms kind of portal to the family church. It showed the prince twice oyer-lying dead on his sar- | cophagus. while above in full armor l he proudly rides his charger. Mastino II followed this same type in his tomb. in a fashion too modest for imitation by the sumptuous Can Signoria tob. 1375). who employed Bonino di Cam piglione to build him a monument four stories high and hexagonal in plan, with figured pilasters. allegorieal stat ues, richly carved sareophagas. and the prince himself on horseback at the top of all.
 The rushing Adige. twirling in s 1 form through the city. is feature con- 1 stantly in evidence. In the older parts 1 that remain. the house fronts rise 1 plumb from the waters modern i'm proyements employ the banks for 1 streets. The Adige is not a river you can casually punt across. It is in q violent hurry and insists upon being bridged The Romans built a sturdy stone bridge, now called the Ponte della Pietra. and two of its ancient arches remain. as we'll as the base of | some other piers. Of course radical restoration and much rebuilding have 1 been required from time to time. the 1 Adige floods being frequent and might 1 fly destructive, as generations Of Yer onese have learned 10 their cost. Most of the existing bridge was the work of 1 the famous local Dominican architect
 Fra Gioeondo. who was employed upon
 it in 1920 in the eighty-fifth year of his age The battlemented Ponte di Gas tel Vecchio likewise calls for mention
 It leads to the palace of the Scaligers which Can Grande II built and the folk Of today use as a barrack.
 Like Venice, Verona is city of pal aces. the architecture Of which reflects the sarious influences that met within it's walls. and of these influences that of Venice is unmistakable. Facades Impose themselves upon the street ] wanderer as obviously Venetian An effect intended by the builders of Verona palaces is lost to the modern visitor: the facades of many Of them
 were elaborately painted by fine art
 ists, and depended upon such decora
 tion for their charm. Time has washed most of it away.