The book is full of pictures of Italian life. One sees the children feeding the pigeons in Venice, the Easter festival in Florence, the vintage with its merry-making in Tuscany, the Roman ruins, the picturesque street-life in Naples with its noise and gayety, and the silent streets of Pompeii. There are many such pen pictures of Italian life, and the story should appeal to the imagination of the child and awaken his interest in Italy and its people. * * * * * CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I AN EVENING IN VENICE 1 II VIVA L'ITALIA! 6 III RAFAEL'S TRAINED TOPS 11 IV STREETS OF VENICE 16 V STRINGING VENETIAN BEADS 21 VI SUNSET FROM THE TOWER OF SAN GIORGIO 28 VII A CHAT ABOUT VERONA 36 VIII EDITH'S FLORENTINE MOSAIC 41 IX RAFAEL LEAVES VENICE 46 X GATHERING GRAPES IN TUSCANY 51 XI A MARATHON RUN TO ROME 62 XII "THE GOLDEN MILESTONE" 72 XIII A RAMBLE IN ROME 76 XIV A MORNING IN THE COLOSSEUM 85 XV MERRY NAPLES 95 XVI THE BURIED CITY 103 XVII THE MAGIC OF THE FOUNTAIN 110 * * * * * ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE On the Appian Way _Frontispiece in Color_ The Grand Canal, Venice 2 Children feeding Pigeons in the Piazza of St. Mark, Venice 11 Gateway of San Sebastian, Rome 68 Ruins of the Claudian Aqueduct 78 The Colosseum at Rome 88 The boys of Naples eating macaroni 99 Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius 103 "The army of boys bearing baskets of earth from the excavations of Pompeii" 106 * * * * * RAFAEL IN ITALY CHAPTER I AN EVENING IN VENICE It was a glorious summer evening. The moon, rising over the city of Venice, shone down on towers and domes and marble palaces, and made a golden path in the rippling waters of the lagoon. The squares of the city were all ablaze with lights, while from every window and balcony twinkling jets of flame found their reflection in the canals, and lengthened into shimmering arrows of gold. There were no sounds save the calls of the boatmen, the soft lapping of the waves against the marble walls and steps, and occasional strains of music from the military band in the Piazza of St. Mark.