The state herald., 1920-11-19
PISA. AN OLD CURIOSITY
SHOP OF HISTORY

4 city Of 10000 skyscrapers before
Teier Mlnuit bought Manhattan island
sr The present price Of q supper ut
y 6-oadway cabaret. 9
= nny that warred and traded with
empires. yet plunged into disastrous
frnEsle With rival city over the
txhfs 10 n lapdog.
a CITY which was seized after a
'nnniine Hshson bottled up- its
nronr entrance with sunken boats
u centuries before the battle of San.
rtaso hay.
Siieh Is Pisa, whose leaning tower
~ss endangered by recent carthauake
srczAOrs In Italy.
fis5's record abounds In Incidents as
1r's'kiSi as lis fnmous tower; yet It
p"S'',sses history necessarily more
s'inihcnni than any British or Amer.
tcan CITY.
'h9hatiye of Plsa's importance In
thc thirteenth century was her send.
.ns nm ambassador to Rome. There.
by hangs the story OF the lapdog. Dur.
my the coronation ceremonies OF
fie'ierick ii the florentlne emissary
acn'ired the iapdog OF a certain car.
ninai. so that dgnIiary promised to
give ule Tiny animal, TO Its admlrer.
Neal day the PIsan ambassador said q
aew Kind words abon, the same dog.
ana The cardinal Just as readily prom.
ased II TO hlm. The FiorentIne sent
tor MS gift, and got It; the Pisan sent,
and received an apology. F1orentiues
errnn Joking the Pinns about this In.
ssdeni- and lights ensued on the Ro.
0sn streets. When the Plsan home
ieakS heard this It gave them an ex.
cei'en, ehance TO pick q quarrel that
had long been slmmering. A sort Of
medie,si Boston ten party was staged
by the i'isans. who seized all the en.I
emy merchnndIsc within their reach,
a'id thns prccipitated the first OF
series Of wars with Florence which
cu'niinn'ed In the subsection Of Pisa
BY her longtime rival.
Ihe lRpdog story seems trivial. yet
characteristic OF n certain childish
qualify noticeable among the Juvenile
civic nntIonalitIcs that preceded na.
donnl itnly. As further proof one
Nigh, recall the occasion when the
victorious army OF Lucca hung upon
= Pisan tower n mirror with the In.
scription "oh women OF Pisa. use
there 10 look at yourselves" No 9th.
er challenge was needed for the Plsans
10 march TO the gate OF Luccn. and
there TO plant poles. topped with mir.
rors. bearing rctnlintory comment.
wsrt II super Nip Van winkic OF
medieval Pisn 10 come with his latter.
day compntriois 10 Ellis island In 1920.
MT only the national bird Of his
sSop,ri land. but the skyscrnper line
Of New York might mike him feel ut
honr.
Towers they were chilled, these PISA
skyscrnpcrs. huddlcd together for nil
.the world like groups OF ,nil apartment
bunw, Two reasons nrc assigned for
n,. mresod Of building. common "a
lailsn towns Of the twelfth century,
inr was that tho wall permitted only
trrsbri expansion when population
w-~nr- Increased. ., Another. bellev.
Atse In view OF ti,e constant faetional
1shis and fnsnisr feuds, attributed
lhra 20 DE ncccssity for protsction.
Beiirrs that could be thrown from
sswcr 70 tower further suggested ths
styscrsres iikensaA On these precur'
corr ef the nodern Ars, escape, many
o community battle has RACED. t.
The issning Tower Of Pisa served
humanity we'll. aside from becoming
ss~ mcss effective hlt OF city sdver'
t,sin" yet devised, for II permitted