The Ely miner., 1930-06-27

! ! mer travel season the paths
wv of travellers in Europe lead
again to Venice, which, with
its unique streets of water, seems to
exercise lure more potent than cities
/ wholly of the land.
The traveller should not expect too
much of Venice. 1t is hardly fair. No
! great city can exist on narrow canals
and be entirely thing of beauty. One
necessarily has had dreams of Venice
and goes there with marked precOn-
ceptiOns. This follows reasonably
! enough, for so much has been written
about this city of the sea, and of
course the rosy, romantic aspect has
been presented. If one does not set
his mark inOrdinately high Venice viii
charm him. Novelty will pinch hit"
whenever beauty strikes out.
BY ali means the visitor should ar
range to arrive in Venice by night.
! Under soft moonlight or under the
rays Of the dim and infrequent street
lamps" Venice puts her very best foot
! forward and strives to make the most
eXtrayagant dreams come true. The
! deep shadows under its bridges and
the palace arches, the mysterious mar
row black canal entrances, the pic
! tureSque leaning posts, the gentle lap
! ping of the waves against the walls
! and steps, the swish Of the paddles
! the half brUsque, half sOnglke calls
! Of the gondOliers as they approach
blind corners, perhaps the musical
| song of a gOndOlier In the distance
| all combine to give one an enhancing
entrance into the City of Canals. He
| leans back on his cushions during the
long boat ride to the hotel-fOr of
course traveller and luggage must go
! by boat-quite cOntented with life.
This is Venice, and it is quite as it
! should be.
What the Day Reveals.
| night arrival is a ruse but a sue
| cessful one 1t is as though one should
| cCntrive to meet once beautiful lady,
! no longer young, at an evening garden
party. Her wrinkles become soft lines.
| When they face you in the pitiless
| light of the morrow they will have a
certain suggestion of familiarity and
| memory will make them less harsh.
The first day in Venice discloses
| indubitable signs of ugliness as we'll
as of beauty. Picturesque gOndOlas
| pass on the Grand canal. SO do the
| unpicturesque Venetian street cars
squat steamboats,, little, but all too
| large beside the gOndOlas-their
sawed-Off stacks belching dirty black
smoke. They raise chOppy waves, as
| do the swifter little mOtOrbOats. The
| gondoiers glare at them and the trav-
eler joins them in spirit in the choice
! Italian curses that they must be utter
| ing under their breath.
More gondolas pass-and the trash
boats of the municipality. In the wa
! ters that seemed so fair last night
| floats every conceivable sort of rub
| biSh. YOnder is the beautiful facade
| of a fine old palace, and beside it a
| building from which the StuccO has
| fallen in great patches disclosing ugly
bricks beneath. Perhaps the stones are
| falling away, too. at the waterline,
! letting the waves reach in for on in
evitably greater destruction. Green
slime covers the steps and the tilted
wooden posts are rotting. Time is
| not the only desecrater of Venetian
walls. The hand of the advertiser has
heen busy. too. And some of the walls
| that Dandolo loved and that scores of
poets have sung about now inform the
occupants of gondOlas and street
cars" of products that can be pur-
chased to their supposed advantage.
But thanks to a night arrival these
things do not worry the visitor over
much. He turns rather to the domes
of Santa Maria della Salute with a
| tangle of masts against the sky; to
the arch of the history ry-encrusted old
Ponte RialtO; to the Incompatible
spires and dOmes of the Cathedral of
San Marco.
One finds that there is a surprising
amount of dry land life in Venice. A
veritable maze of alleys and caili (lt-
! tie streets) and fondamenti (canal
! side-walks) exist. The best one cah
hope to do in a short stay is to gain
superficial acquaintance with the
main way between San Marco and the
Rialto.
Piazza San Marco.
| The ways, whether narrow alleys or
! somewhat wider Gales, have 70 side
walks, of course. The entire space.
| such as it is, is for pedestrians. AT
| intervals the narrow ways open up
| into "campi" as the little squares are
| called. The name, piazza" has been
reserved for the great square of San
! Marco facing the cathedral-the ulti-
nate in dry SpaciousnesS in Venice.
If Cne has only picture knowledge
! IF Venice. as all the world has not
| been there has. the Piazza San Marco
/ riI prove a surprise. The little open
space that holds the famous statue
| IF the Lion of San Marco is not the
zeal piazza but only the anteroOm. the
,iazetta. Well behind the lion col
INN, around the Campanile lies a
quare greater than many city with
| IN unlimited supply Of terra frma
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