The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1920-10-08

grou p Of eight of the 50 provinces Of
Italy and is little more official as a
terri torial division than our own
New England. 1t takes it's name
from one of the most important Of
the Roman military highways, the
Via Aemlia, built in 1877 B. C. bv the
cons nj NJ. Aemilius Lepidus to tic
the province more closely to Rome
This great road extended for $50
mile IS almost in an air line from the
coas 1t of the Adriatic near the mouth
Of the Rubicon to the upper reaches
otf III e River Pc, and its route is now
foloo we'd by the railroad which CON
meets most of the chief cities of f.
nTiis D, many of which have been So
vefei Y shaken by the recent earth
quad es
az he Emilia may be described as a
bro;3d slice of Italy lying just below
the flare of the italian Boot be-
TIVE en- the Pc on the north and the
ere st of the Etruscau Apennine
mo- 1ntans on the south: and extend
ing from the sandy and lagoon-in-
dented shore of the Adratic almost
cor npletely across the peninsula to
the watershed of the Ligurian Apen
min es. Only the narrow strip of
mo untain slope and beaches that
constitute the Riviera, perhaps the
best known of the worlds play
grounds, separates the Emilia from
the waters that bound Italy on the
west.
"The provinces of Emilia COMPRISE
about half the southern portion of the
great Pc basin, perhaps the best de-
fined river plain in Europe; and the
northern slope of the Etruscan Apen-
mines. 1t is land of varied topo
, graphy containing swamps and
plains, hills and mountains. the lat
ter generally well wooded but inter
spersed with barren peaks. The sec
ton is mainly devoted to agriculture
some of the important products being
rice and other grains, hay, hemp. and
olives. Some manufacturing is car
ried on in the principal cities but for
the most part industrial Italy lies far
Their to the north. The country is
heavily populated, the density in
1915 exceeding that of New Jersey.
"The most destructive of Italy's
earthquakes have occurred in the
southern part of the peninsula. Sc
we're tremors may be said to be rela-
lively unusual, therefore, in Emilia.
though the records show that slight
shocks have occurred there rather
frequently. The majority of the |
Italian earthquakes have manifested
themselves most strongly in the
mountainous regions, and in the case |
of the recent northern tremors great !
est destruction has perhaps been Wis
tied on Fivizzano, just south of the i
Emilian border near the crest of the !
Apennines. The great seismic forces |
have not confined themselves to the
mountains in this case but have !
reached out as at times in the past !
and struck Reggie, in the middle of |
the great plain of the Pc, and Fer
rara, situated in the low swampv
country near the mouth of that river.
The former town is known as
Reggie Emilia to distinguish it from
town of the same name in southern
Italy. Like most of the towns in
this part of Italy Reggie Emilia is
characterized architecturally by
buildings with arcades which provide
artistically covered walks along
many of the streets. 1t was near Reg
gio, at Canossa, now in ruins, that
Henry ", Emperor of Rome, did
penance in 1077 to reinstate himself
in the forces of Pope Gregory VIII
after the latter had accommodated
him.
"a few miles south of Reggie
small mud volcanoes caused by es-
Gaping gas have existed for many
years. While photographers have
felt that this phenomenon did not
necessarily have any direct causal
connection with the occurrence of
slight earthquakes in this region
from time to time, it at least indi-
Gates subterranean gas pressure and
and existence of assures of greater
or less depth in the earth's crust.
"Ferrara, one of the Emilan cities
which suffered from the recent earth
quakes, had a brilliant past during
Renaissance times as the seat of the
court Of the famous princely family
of Este, history which is called to
mind today by the broad thorough
fares of the city and its beautiful
edifices. Among the buildings in
jured by the recent earthquake is the