The Mentor: Venice, the Island City, Vol. 1, Num. 27, Serial No. 27

“The effects of St. Mark’s depend not only upon the most delicate sculpture in every part, but eminently on its color also, and that the most subtle, variable, inexpressible color in the world, – the color of glass, of transparent alabaster, of polished marble, and lustrous gold.”

The building is in the form of a Greek cross, with mosaics covering more than 4,500 square feet. Over the upper entrance are four horses in gilded bronze, counted among the finest of ancient bronzes. They may have adorned the triumphal arch of Nero or that of Trajan in Rome. The Emperor Constantine sent them to Constantinople, and from there they were brought by the Doge Dandolo to Venice in 1204. These horses were taken to Paris by Napoleon in 1797, and for awhile crowned a triumphal arch in that city. After Napoleon’s downfall, in 1815, the bronzes were restored to their original place at Venice.

PALACE AND CAMPANILE

Close beside the cathedral of St. Mark stands the square Campanile, the most prominent feature in all Venetian views. Standing 325 feet high, the Campanile always dominated the picturesque low stretch of Venice’s skyline and gave a peculiar distinction to the whole scene. It seemed indeed to many Venetians and to lovers of Venice all over the world that the city had lost its crowning feature when, in 1902, the Campanile collapsed. It was originally erected in 900 and rebuilt in 1329. After it had fallen Venice seemed maimed, and the hearts of thousands felt the depression until the tower was rebuilt and the city could once again hold up its beautiful head. A new tower was built by Piacentini (pee´-ah-chen-tee´-nee) during the years 1905 to 1911, and on completion it was consecrated with most impressive ceremonies.

The Doge’s Palace was originally founded about 800; but was destroyed by fire five times, and each time rebuilt on a grander scale. The older part of the present edifice was built in 1309; while the west wing, facing on the piazzetta, was built between 1424 and 1438 by the celebrated architects Buon, father and son.

In gazing at the Doge’s Palace the eye is first caught by the upper arcade. From there the sentences of the “Council of Ten” were pronounced – listened to by the assembled people in silence and in awe.

The columns of this arcade are most beautiful, and have been pointed to with pride for years. Ruskin describes the detail of the sculptured columns, and declares that they are the finest of their kind in Europe. The interior of the Doge’s Palace is wonderful. Tintoretto’s painting of “Paradise” is there, a marvel in size and in detail. The residence of the Doges and the apartment in which the authorities held their meetings are there, revealing still much of their ancient glory. The palace is virtually a museum, and it shows a great display of fine paintings, containing, among others, notably works of Tintoretto, Paul Veronese, (vay-ro-nay´-seh) and Palma Giovane (jo-vah´-neh). Days could be spent profitably wandering through these halls, studying the treasures of art and history to be found there.

BRIDGE OF SIGHS

In one room you will find yourself gazing from a window at a sight that will be familiar to you; though you may never have traveled before. You will exclaim when you see it, “The Bridge of Sighs!” A corridor nearby leads you to the bridge. You will take it, and find that it conducts you across from the Palace of the Doges to the prison, where are to be seen the gloomy walls as well as the torture chamber and the place of execution of former days. The Bridge of Sighs is best known in Venice, and the reason for it is chiefly sentimental. The Council of Ten of the Middle Ages is supposed to have sent doomed state prisoners across this bridge to their execution. We gather that these unfortunates saw the light of day for the last time when crossing the bridge. The thought is enough to seize upon the imagination of visitors, and many of them indulge themselves in sympathetic reveries when there. The interior of the Bridge of Sighs is gloomy enough to start creepy feelings; but there is no need of wasting too much sentiment on it. W. D. Howells calls it a “pathetic swindle.” As a matter of fact, there is no evidence that any great number of prisoners, or any prisoner of importance, ever crossed there.

Aside from any sentimental reason, however, the Bridge of Sighs is most interesting architecturally. It was built in 1600. It is attractive in design, and it makes a good picture, connecting with fine lines the two grim buildings on each side and bridging over the long, narrow canal beneath.

PICTURESQUE WATERWAYS

The canals of Venice are of varying width, and as they wind through the city they offer picturesque nooks and corners that have from the earliest times captivated the eye of the artist. F. Hopkinson Smith, a long-time devotee of Venice, has painted several hundred pictures, and at that has drawn but lightly on the possibilities of the subject.

Little canals in deep shadows, wider canals in sunlight, some straight, some curved, and at various points picturesquely bridged, supply effects in light and color that the eye greets with delight.

THE GRAND CANAL

It is trite and ineffective simply to say that the Grand Canal is the great artery and thoroughfare of Venice. It is so much more than that: it is a magnificent show course adorned with two hundred or more magnificent palaces dating from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, and beautiful churches and interesting public buildings. A sightseeing trip in a gondola affords the visitor an object of architectural beauty and historic interest at every rod. The historic interest of some of these houses is double, – the interest attached to them by virtue of the original patrician owners, and a new interest acquired through the residence in them of notable men of later time. Drift slowly along this splendid waterway. Marble steps lead down from the noble residences to the water’s edge. Tall posts bearing the colors of the family serve as hitching posts for the boats. Your guide will tell you the stories, poetic and dramatic, of the families whose names are set down in the great roll of the nobility of Venice entitled “The Book of Gold.” Then you will be told of the later associations that enhance the interest of some of the palaces. That handsome mansion over there is where Desdemona lived. Nearby it is the Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi, (ven-drah´-min cahl-ehr´-gee) in which Richard Wagner (vahg´-ner) died in 1883. That stately palace over there was for a time the home of Robert Browning; he died there in 1889, and there is a memorial tablet on the wall. Look at those three palaces close together. The one in the center was occupied by Lord Byron in 1818. Nearby is the Browning home, a Gothic building, in which W. D. Howells wrote his “Venetian Life.” In another palace George Sand had residence for a time. The great painter Titian (tish´-an) lived in one of these buildings.