Catoctin clarion., 1917-11-08
territorial division of north
ern Italy known as Venetia is
fertile region whose blossoming

"HE territorial division of north
ern Italy known as Nenetia Is
fertile region whose blossoming
plains are dotted with numer-
Gus cities famous as centers of great
historic interest and custOdians of art
and architectural treasures Of incalcu-
liable worth.
Venetia Is the rear boot strap" of
the Italian peninsula. 1t juts far up
into AustrO-Hungarian territory, at the
head of the Adriatic sea, and is bound
ed on the south by the Adriatic and
the territorial division Of Italy known
as Emilia, OF which Bologna Is the
principal city. The southwestern
boundary Is Lombardy, Of which Mi
Ian Is the metropolis. 1t has an area
about equal to that Of the state of
Vermont. but its population Is ten
times as great. says bulletin Of the
National Geographic society.
Among the noted cities whose liter
ary shrlnes, historic buildings and won
derful art galleries are endangered by
the far-reaching iron fingers of war
are the great Mistress of the Adriatic,
Venice, once the seat of the most pow
erful republic In the world; Verona,
treasured IN the heart Of the English
reading world at the home of litcra-
ture's greatest lovers, Romeo and
juliet: Pndna. also familiar name
to the Shakespearean student: Vicen-
"a, rich In Palladlo palaces; Udlne, the
military base for Italian operations
on the IsonZo during the drive
toward the Austrian port of Trieste,
and that delight of artists, ChIoggia,
the chief fishing port of Italy.
Delta Land of Many Rivers.
venetia Is largely delta land, having
been formed by the alluvial deposits
brought down from the Tyrolean Alps
by numerous rivers, including the two
largest watercourses Of the kingdom,
the Po and the Adige. The lower
reaches of these rivers flow through
extensive plains where levees are nee
essary to prevent frequent inunda-
tions. In this section the Po has
fall Of not more than half-inch to
the mile. Naturally this silt soil Is
extremely fertile, producing large
crops Of wheat, maize, rice, tobacco
and cheStnuts, together with mulberry
leaves for sllkworms.
Many of the towns of Venetia are
manufacturing centers, the chief prod
ucts being glassware, woolen, silk and
cotton goods, paper and candles. Vene-
tian lace has become so widely known
as almost to have lost the geographic
significance of its name.
The territory derives Its name from
Veneti, the tribes which inhabited this
region during the early Roman days.
When the barbarians poured over the
Alps, and Atilla sacked Lombardy, the
people of the interior fled to the Adri-
attic coast, taking refuge on the low
islands which cluster around the
mouths of the numerous rivers. 1t Is
to this hegira that Venice owed the inl-
tial impetus for its rapid rise to
power, beginning In the fifth century
Her fortunes finally waned with the
discovery Of the Cape Of Good Hope
route to the Far East, In 1856, this
ocean lane to the Orient striking a
fatal blow at the island city's SUI
premacy as a trade center. A large
part of the Mediterranean traffic was
quickly diverted to the Atlantic sea-
board, establishing England's dOmi-
nance as the worlds greatest COM
merce-carrying nation.
In 1907 Napoleon gave Venice and
q large part Of the contiguous territory
to Austria. The city and province
were incorporated as part of United
Italy in 1866, after the defeat Of Aus
tria by the Prussians on the field of
Koniggratz, in the "Seven Weeks
War"
Bassano an "Infant" City.
Bassano, one of the picturesque
towns of northern Italy, with about
1900 people, Is situated on the turbu-
lent Brenta river, 20 miles east Of
the Tyrolean border and 30 miles north
of Padua.
For sentimental rather than strate-
gic reasons, the Austrian forces would
be overjoyed IL the fortunes of war
should cause Bassano to fall into their
hands, for it was before this city that
Napoleon achieved his first signal sue.
cess in his remarkable campaign Of
September, 1895, when his infantry
covered distance of ia miles in six
days, besides winning three battles
from the Austrian troops.
Thirteen years after his victory at
Bassano Napoleon raised the town to
duchy and conferred the dukedom
upon his devoted secretary Of state,
Maret, the French journalist and diplo-
mat, who shares with Daru the dis
tinction Of having been one Of the
hardest workers In the service Of the
great Corsican.
Bassano Is one Of the Infant" cit