THE LAST SUPPER PROTECTED BY PADDING
Da Vinci's great picture is painted on the wall of the Refectory of the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan, Italy
Many hotels are closed, tourists come no more. No Italian city has suffered from the effects of war so much as Venice. Industries have been ruined, its commerce depleted. Its churches and hospitals have again and again been bombed from the air. Frescoes have been obliterated that can never be replaced, though much of the damage done will soon be repaired.
All about the populous Square of St. Mark heaps of sand-bags were piled to protect the arcades. The beautiful façade of St. Mark's Cathedral has been, for some time, hidden from view. The famous horses were taken down, the wonderful Byzantine mosaics were removed, and the entire front of the building covered with sand-bags and protected by huge timbers.
THE COLLEONI STATUE UNDER
PROTECTIVE COVERING
THE FAMOUS EQUESTRIAN STATUE
OF BARTOLOMMEO COLLEONI, BY
VERROCHIO—VENICE
The Doges' (Ducal) Palace was supported by columns of bricks; everywhere evidence could be seen of the attempt of the Italians to save the most remarkable city in the world. Inside the sumptuous Cathedral of St. Mark's, the effect was startling—all the works of art gone, the altar covered beyond recognition, mounds upon mounds of sand-bags heaped around the columns. It was more like a cave than the interior of one of the most beautiful of churches. Along the Grand Canal the large hotels have been converted into hospitals. Vast palaces have been closed and deserted. Life on the Canal is so quiet that it is almost painful. It is not the same Venice so many travelers recall. Only one good-class hotel is open. There are a few boarding-houses, but all the magnificent hotels are either closed or filled with wounded men.
It was difficult in war times to get into Venice, and more difficult to get out. Everyone was looked upon as a spy until he proved that he was not. Officials inquired into your life history, traced your every movement, watched every step you took, and if finally you passed muster and got away without a long delay, you knew that there was not a suspicion of your ever having even dreamed of being a spy.