Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.)
The Italian Pavilion is an irregular group of seven structures, all
connected by arcades except the last building to the east, a
moving-picture hall. The main entrance is at the west, where a broad low
flight of steps leads up to a plaza between two tall buildings
irregularly placed. That on the right, in Fifteenth Century style,
contains the offices of the Commission. The hall on the left,
reminiscent of the Bargello, is devoted to a splendid collection of
antique Roman, Grecian, and Italian art, shown by Signor Canessa. On
either side of the entrance is a Roman "Discus Thrower" in bronze. The
Bargello hall is connected by an arcade with a square Etruscan tower,
which in turn is similarly joined with other buildings that close the
plaza on the east. In the rectangle between the two parallel buildings
on the east, is a beautiful peristyled Venetian court, adorned with
bronzes and marbles copied from originals in the Museum of Naples. In
the center is a reproduction in stone and bronze of the well of the
Palace of Campo San Giovanni e Paolo at Venice.
Of the two parallel buildings on either side of this court, the southern
one is a Florentine structure containing a single hall devoted to purely
governmental exhibits. The Tribuna between the two is the sanctuary of
the pavilion, containing the portraits of King Victor Emmanuel and Queen
Margherita, and portraits and relics of the great of Italy, explorers
from Columbus to the Duke of the Abruzzi, scientists like Galileo,
Galvani, Volta and Marconi, statesmen like Mazzini, and soldiers like
Garibaldi. The other principal hall contains a series of rooms
representing the cities of Italy during the Renaissance. First from the
east is a reproduction of the Fifteenth Century library of the sacristy
of the Church of Santa Maria alle Grazie at Milan, a chamber of
beautiful armoires of carved wood, with panels painted with sacred
pictures in colors. Next is a Neapolitan room, filled with reproductions
in bronze and silver and marble of the Pompeiian treasures of the
Museums of Naples and Rome. Then comes the Florentine Room, furnished in
Fifteenth Century style with carved and inlaid wood, and adorned with
copies of the best bronzes and marbles of the great mediaeval city.
There is also a dining room in Fourteenth Century Florentine style, and
then comes, at the western end, the Royal Salon, a magnificent hall with
ceilings in blue and gold, and murals by Pieretto and Bruno Ferrari.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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