Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-01-07
Broad Lagoons and Canals
Have Air of Martial and
Naval Preparation
FEW GONDOLAS ARE USED
Bomb Raids Have Terrorized
and Damaged Quaint
Old City
Correspondence of Associated Press.)

Tor trip through the Grand Canal
during these war days, and one sees
many changes in the center of inter
est we'll known to travellers and read
ers-the war-dress fthe homes of
Lord Byron and the composer Wag-
ner, of the poet Browning and the
American writer W. d. Howells, the
romantic palace where Desdemona
waited for Othello, and further along,
in the market quarter near the Riaito
bridge, the house of Shylock. the
quaint building standing there un-
changed to-day, but now used as a
butchers shop where a lusty Italian
butcher eXacts Shylock war prices of
80 cents a kilo for the pounds of flesh
dealt over the counter.
Starting from the quay San Marco,
the broad lagoons entering the Grand
Canal have an air of martial and naval
preparation rather than the usual car
nival aspect which marks this center.
The quays are lined with soldiers and
sailors, and the gondolas are carrying
great loads of war supplies back and
forth, and Transporting troops and
marines from point to point while the
launches from the warships dart in
and out among the gondolas.
Ordinarily there are $500 gondolas
1000 public-but only very few of
these remain in use owing to the terror
inspired by the bomb raids. Most of
the wealthy residents have hurriedly
left for the South, and there are no
tourists to make use of the public gon-
dolas. Only one f1rst-class hotel re-
mains open, and half of it is given
over to a hospital for the wounded
brought in from the nearby lighting
lines.
All in War TrappinGs
Entering the Grand Canal, the great
domes of Santa Maria della Salute
stand out on the left, but always with
their war trappings, for here is located
the headquarters of the army Red
Cross where most of the work of the
field hospitals is regulated. The pal
ace Nenier next to the church is SINH
larly used for army hospital admins
tration. and the Red Cross flags are
flying everywhere, as a warning of
immunity from bomb raids. Further up
the canal on the right is the house of
Desdemona. Just what Desdemona
did in her day is a matter of tradition
and Shakesperian romance. Now the
old palace is occupied by rich mer-
chant family who have fled to the
South; the curtains are drawn, the
lower windows guarded by steel shut
ters, and the gardens neglected.
On the left of the Canal is a row of
palaces often occupied by prominent
American families. Two of these, the
palace Balbi-Valier and the Polignac
are closed and closely shuttered,
while most of the others in the quarter
are partially abandoned. Opposite
this group is the palace Fallier, where
w. b. Howells lived while he wrote
his scenes from Venetian life. 1t is
one of the ten places still showing life
dens are full of flowers which hang
into the canals lanking it in front and
along one side. Just across the Grand
Canal is the palace Rezzonico where
Robert Browning lived and died
Usually this is very gay quarter with
crowds of gondolas passing, and the
palaces alive with brilliant entertain
ment. But now all is silent and lugu-
brious. and the few gondolas creep
along like Indian canoes on deserted
river.
Artists Give Touch
One touch of life has been given to
this quarter by some American ar
lists who have pulled down an old pal
ace and built a very showy front,
reaching down to the water. The
bright yellow and red are in marked
contrast with the somber palaces all
around. The military escort accom-
panying the party pointed out an aban-
doned garden with a fine old palace
built only to the first story.
There is a story there" said the
military escort. THAT palace was be-
gun by son of one of the Doges. But
the son got to gambling, lost all his
money, and mortgaged the palace yet
unfinished And so the old Doge or
dered that all work on the palace
should be stopped. and never again
started, as an everlasting warning
against gambling. And there it stands
to-day, after four hundred years, Just
as it stood when work was stopped,
still giving it warning"
Further along on the left, is the gray
stone building used as the Austrian
Embassy until Italy declared war
against Austria. The Flagstaff which
used to bear the Austrian colors,
stretches over the canal, but the place
is deserted. Up a side canal is the
ed They were two of the most active
centers of entertainment and official
exchange during peace times.
In front of the German en-
bassy dredges are now at work clean
ing out the side canals. This Is a
mammoth work. done every 200 years
in the Grand Canal, and every 20 years
in the side canals. The present alb
sence of traffic has given opportunity
for this securing. Great masses of
black mud are brought up and car
ried out to sea. All the sewage of Ven-
fee empties into these canals, but the
tides of the Adriatic sweep out the
sewage and keep the city in a reason
ably healthy condition.
In the market section of the city
the Grand Canal shows its usual ac-
tivity, with the fish and vegetable
markets surrounded by boats and
crowded with customers. Venice has
recently finished a veritable palace for
its fish market, and the military escort
told how this has come about.
1.-THE queen came here about five
years ago." said he. ''She was shown
the beauties of the Grand Canal. and
admired them greatly-all except the
old fish market. She declared that was
a blot and a scandal. And so the city
decided to spend a million francs for
q new market. And yet, the queen has
never since come here to see this build
ing erected to meet her taste, and
Venice is beginning to ask whether it
was really worth while to spend so
much money to meet a woman's
whtm."
The Rialto bridge is the very heart
of the busy merchant quarter. This
famous bridge is the only one known
to have been made stronger by increas-
ing its weight IT began 70 crack NJ