Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-20

HoSScO III NcHlCo'
Just across the Via Gisella. from the
fruit and vegetable market Is the
Pescheria, or Ash market. as one can
the fishermen advertising their frutta
di mare. Among. them are polyps.
molluscs of all kinds, the speckled
sgombri. the tuna fish and the ever
popular scampi, those Holsters of rare
quality found only in the Quarnero
and Norwegian waters.
But thus far he has seen only the
modern Fiume. and there remains Tor
the traveller the Zitavecia. or old city
So he leaves the market place ana
passing along the pleasantly shaded
wine quay on the Canale della F1um-
ara Is soon back upon the Corso. Tho
old city 10 just off this thoroughfare
and Is entered through an arcade
which runs beneath the clock tower OF
the municipal building. The place IS
not a ruin. but is thickly populated.
Again the Italian Of Venice Is heard
and the Latin love Of color is seen In
the dress Of the people and the bright
flowers growing upon patches OF turf.
Vendors Of fish and vegetables make
market Of the open spaces by pouring
out the contents of their baskets upon
the ground.
Yet the few steps taken from the
Corso to the Piazza dele Erbe seem
to have led one from the twentieth
to the fifteenth century. Here Is
antiquity. Here Is old italy, even
Rome. Narrow, tortuous streets wind
between rows Of ancient houses. Even
In the light Of day a gloom is cast
along the route. Here and there are
relics which recall Byzantium or
Venice-an ancient balcony above the
street. time-eaten ledge. a battered
INSTRUMENTATION of a wall.
In the Piazza del Municipo stands
a sculptured column. set up by the
Venetians centuries ago. the inscrip-
tions upon which have long since
been defaced or have disappeared
altogether under the erosion of time.
or in the via DELI Arco Romano. SO
narrow that 1t seems like an alley,
stands one Of the most ancient pieces
of masonry in Fiume, the old Roman
triumphal arch, structure of great
ragged stones, which is said to have
been erected in honor Of Emperor
Claudius II. Tn estreet passes be-
meath 1t and its piers are embedded
in the walls of the neighboring
houses. 1t is in a somewhat dilapi-
dated condition. but it does not the
less recall ones thoughts to 1.-The
grandeur that was Rome"
In this strange Zitavecia. surround
ed by these relics of the past. one
is disposed to pause and muse upon
what has happened here. In some
dark angle of the rugged wall fancy
almost discovers the figure of
Roman sentinel. The rush of foot
steps and the call of voices along
an adjacent street suggest the ad-
vance of the destroying Frank with
torch and sword in hand. One dreams
of day of festival. when emissaries
came across the sea and the populace
raised aloft that concentrating
column. the now e-battered legacy
of the great republic. the one-time
Adriatic queen. Loggia and ledge
awake images of balmy. starry nights
in the age of chivalry and song.
On the northern edge Of this old Fiume
stands the Church of Sts Vito and
Modesto. built in 1881. Near the en-
trance. still imbedded in the wall, is a
mannol shot, a memento Of the British
bombardment in 1919. The church Is
modelled after that Of the Santa Maria
Della Salute at Venice. 1t contains a
copy of Titian's Assunta, painted by
Simonetti, and a Mater Dolorosa statue
by Benvenuti There is also an ancient
wooden cross preserved in the church.
The legend is that crucifx was once
planted upon this site and one day was
struck with stone by drunken man.
Blood forthwith gushed out, and 80
miraculous an occurrence was COM
memorated by the building Of the church
upon the spot.
Having crossed the bridge which spans
the Fiumara ravine near the Piazza di
Scioletta, the pedestrian Is in Croatia. in
the suburb of Susak. with Its boule-
ward. pretty park, new buildings and
$4,000 Inhabitants, practically all Croats.
Above the suburb Is Tersatto. the little