Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-03-31
HISTORIC CHURCH
BEARS BRUNT OF
BIG AIR RAID
Scalzi, in Venice, One of Art
Monuments of the World,
Is a Wreck

Venice, Italy. March is. - (Corre-
spendence of the Associated Press)
An opportunity to see the destruc-
tive effect of the bomb raids on
Venice was given to-day to the AS
sociated Press, when an inspection un-
der official escort was made of the
havoc and ruin in the famous old
church of the ScalZi, one of the art
monuments of the world. now n wreck
with its roof blown off, it's massive
walls tottering, and the famous cell
ing fresco by Tiepolo, valued at a
million francs, lying in heaps of rub
bish in the ruins of the building.
There have been three bomb raids on
Venice. but this was the first and the
historic church bore the full brunt of
it.
Approaching the massive edifice one
sees a gaping hole In the roof, eX-
tending from front TO rear. The ia
cade, fronting the Grand Canal, is in
tact, and three sculptured figures
standing along the cornice remain
untouched. But back of the figures
the roof says away in a curved line
downward and then up again to the
rear wall, as though some giant hand
had reached down and torn out the
whole top of the church, leaving only
the front and the rickety side walls
still intact. Workmen can be seen
high above beginning the work of sal
wage and repair, and heavy timbers
are being laced across the gaping
hole left by the bomb.
Entering the historic church a
scene of havoc and ruin is presented
twisted beams and arches, panels
and columns of alabaster crush ed
into bits and lying around in heaps,
the richly carved pulpit blown to
pieces with only a faint outline of its
former wonders remaining, and above,
the roof wide open to the sky, with
the wonderful frescos of Tiepolo
dumped in huge masses of debris on
the stone pavement. Faint edges of
the grand old frescoes still cling to the
side walls, giving some lea of the
beauties of the work torn away. Six
enormous arches spanned the edifice
meeting in the middle, and giving
an intervening space for these frescoes
Not vestige remains of the main sub
jects, the visit of the Virgin to Loret-
to, containing hundreds of biblical
and allegorical figures, the ragged
edges showing only cloud effects and
the background with q few figures
The high altar, with spiral alabaster
columns and rich decorations, is not
touched, and another curious feature
is that the electric candles circling
the church are undisturbed, the elec-
trio bulbs shining as brightly as ever
But with these two eXceptions-the
high altar far in the rear. and the
circling candles - everything is a
ruin, frescoed ceiling, inlaid marble
sidewalks, sculptures, confessionals
memorial tablets, baptistry, and mar
bic mosaic pavement-all lying about
in fragments.
1t was about eleven o'clock in the
morning when the explosion occur
red. This was the busy hour, when
the gondolas were crowding the
Grand Canal, and the Venetians were
shopping and marketing. Suddenly a
single monoplane was seen in the
northern sky. coming from the direc-
,tion of the Austrian frontier 1t was
flying very high-about $500 meters
People at first did not recognize this
speck as an enemy bent on destruc.
ton. Soon however. the steam, cyrer
at the Arsenal gave a long wail-the
signal of warning - and the people
scattered to cellars and any available
cover. The aeroplane was now in full
view, heading straight for the bis
railway station of Venice, the center
of a network of railway connections
Just above the station the aeroplant
began to circle round and round
Clearly 1t was going to bomb the sta
> ton. But at $500 meters height the
aim is not good, and besides there
was smist adding to the difficulties o.
a sure shot. Down came the bomb
people could see it fall-but instead
of the station it struck square on toI
1 of the famous old church. 1t did no.
explode Immediately as it struck the
roof. Instead, it made a clean hole
through the roof, and then, shooting
downwards. exploded just above anC
in front of the pulpit.
= This internal explosion is wha
caused the terrible destruction, az
besides the flying fragments of the
bomb and its .shrapnel contents, the
sudden expansion of air in the con
fined interior of the church literally
lifted the roof from the supporting
walls and blew it skyward. One side
e of the roof was bent over to the right
= the other to the left, beams anC
e arches crashing upward and over
e while masses of debris settled dowT
, between the walls. The frescoed cell
. ing had disappeared in an instant
Particles of the bomb dug deep into
the alabaster facing the walls, crack
ing and wrenching the marble pill
lars and side walls from floor to roof
= Even the marble floor, made of huge
5 slabs formed in mosaics, was torn VI
1 in chunks. One huge slab of TIL,
floor covered the tomb of some of the
= famous Venetians of olden days, anC
this was wrenched out exposing the
tom below. The explosion occurred
$ when the church was deserted so tina
. no loss of life resulted.
Z To the art world the damage Il
the famous old church is an irrepar
r able loss. Everywhere it was known
e as the type of the Venetian baroqu'
:, STYLE and next to the church of SAINT;
: Maria was the best example of thi
l style in the world. The fresco by Tie
. polo, covering the entire ceiling, wa
: of course, the greatest loss. as mex
n to Titan, Tintoretto and Paul Neron
esee, Tiepolo was accepted as th
: greatest of descriptive painters, ant
y the last of the older school of famous
II Venetian masters. The destroyed
= fresco was his most Representative
s work, and probably the largest. Afte
/, nearly 800 years the painting was il
: an excellent state of preservation, th
= vividness of the coloring and tn
= great number of figures in the colossa
/ work-nearly 100 feet across-givini
}. it a special interest and value to tn
:, art world.
r Only by chance, too. is it Tiepolo'
!, work that is destroyed instead o
II Titians or Tintoretto's, for these mas
e ters are similarly represented on tn
!. ceilings and walls of many of tn
t churches and historic monuments o
< Venice, and while paintings can b.
removed to places of safety the fres
coed ceilings must stay to take tn
chance of bombs. Ruskin in hi
Stones of Venice says Titan and Pau
/. Veronese can be judged only by th
ceilings of Venice. The sculptures ant
= carvings OF the high altar are by an
/ otI,ar Nanatian master. PnZZn bti