Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1921-02-09
A fine LETTER
FROM ITALY
Continued from first page

Imausoleum of Diocletian is still
standing with most of its pillars
/ (Corinthian) and one of it's suhinx
guards. A frieze of the earliest soul
ptures, possibly stolen from Persia,
adorns the cupola and 16 pillars of
marble, granite and porphyr support
a small balcony below the frieze.
The mausoleum was dedicated to
the Virgin in the early Christian era
and a tall Campanile erected to re-
place the sphinxes. This Campanile
dates back to the Venetian rule. The
Mausoleum is filled with rare, old
paintings, carvings and gold work.
1T is a treasure house of ancient art
and is a more unique study in ages,
sculpture and architecture than any
one other building, having evidence
of the Roman pagan, Roman Christ
liam, Tartar, Turk and ., Italian
affluence, each distinct and disting-
Unstable from the other. 1t is one
of the oldest churches in Europe.
Near the mausoleum is the small
chancery or temple, originally of
Jupiter 1t has statute of one of
the grand dogies of Venus and
sculpture dating before Christ. On
the walls are the names of all babies
and lheir parents and godfathers,
who have been baptized there during
the Christian era.
The Palace of Diocletian is credit
ed as the largest Roman structure
and contained such new developments
| in architecture that many features
were borrowed by Louis XIV of
France, George | of England. The
latter had a book written with a de-
tailed study of the construction there
and at Salona. The palace was sur
rounded by massive walls, with four
large gates. The Golden Gate, Iron
Gate. Silver Gate and Bronze Gate.
Only one, the iron gate remains.
From the Golden Gate "a fortified
military road extended over the edge
of the BOWL" around the Castelli
Bay and along the Rivera through
Salona to Trau. This road was built
very wide and strong and almost
without repair or alienation is a
perfect road today and as good as
any highway in America Castelh
Bay or the Bay of Seven Castles is
one of the most beautiful and little
known spots in Europe. II IS long
oblong sheet of water closed in by
high mountains. Its first historical
Significance dates back to the height
of Phoenician eminence. They forti-
fed a small island at the entrance
of the bay. using it for q base of
operations against Athens. } Bottle,
| Xerxes and Alexander the Great eX-
tended the Notifications and the Ro-
mans used the Grecian fort as a
corner stone for their larger forti-
fcations in the 4th century Q. c.
Venice saw the value of Trau as a
naval base and excavated canal
through the island. A large Cathed-
raj was built by the Venetians and
this is reported by art authorities
to be one Of the most beautiful
churches in the world.
Salona, lying at the innermost end
of the bay is obscure in its origin,
but the date of completion of the
Coliseum was 354 B. c. 1t was q
large prosperous Roman city. The
tombs hold the dust of Emperors
statesmen, early church patriarchs
So rich was the city in sculpture that
when excavations were made in the
earlier part of the Goth century
very large building had to be built at
Spalato to hold merely the small
and loose edifces, and statues. The
destruction of Salona was caused
first by the Turkish invasion and
later by an earthquake which caused
the city to sink and become buried
in alluvial deposit and partly drown
ed in the salt water of the bay.
The amount of statues and busts
exhumed was so great that the hous'
es ana fences are ornanented WITH
them. One house on the road to Trau
has for the front wall, a yerltabie
maze of heads of all sizes and fea'
lures. These heads have been tttec
in the masonry and stare at passers'
by like people in stocks. For gate
way in the fence around this house
the constructor used two marble Pill
lars and a highly carved arch thai
fairly shout antiquity. Strange as 4
may seem the people think nothing
of either the ruins nor of th'
wealth of ancient sculpture in thu
masonry of their home. Judging from
the average intellect and taste OF tn
Jugo Slaves am of the opinion tina
1.-THE Constructor of the domicile wa
y 4