THE DOVES OF VENICE. 



V?/hni 



:NICE, the pride of Italy of ] 

 \\/ old, aside from its other 

 V^ numerous curiosities and an- 

 '^ tiquities, has one which is a 

 novelty indeed. Its Doves on the San 

 Marco Place are a source of wonder 

 and amusement to every lover of ani- 

 mal life. Their most striking pecul- 

 iarity is that they fear no mortal man, 

 be he stranger or not. They come in 

 countless numbers, and, when not 

 perched on the far-famed bell tower, 

 are found on the flags of San Marco 

 Square. They are often misnamed 

 Pigeons, but as a matter of fact they 

 are Doves of the highest order. They 

 differ, however, from our wild Doves 

 in that they are fully three times as 

 large, and twice as large as our best 

 domestic Pigeon. Their plumage is 

 of a soft mouse color relieved by pure 

 white, and occasionally one of pure 

 white is found, but these are rare. 

 Hold out to them a handful of crumbs 

 and without fear they will come, perch 

 on your hand or shoulder and eat with 

 thankful coos. To strangers this is 

 indeed a pleasing sight, and demon- 

 strates the lack of fear of animals when 

 they are treated humanely, for none 

 would dare to injure the doves of San 

 Marco. He would probably forfeit his 

 life were he to injure one intentionally. 

 And what beggars these Doves of San 

 Marco are ! They will crowd around, 

 and push and coo with their soft sooth- 

 ingr voices, until vou can withstand 

 them no longer, and invest a few 

 centimes in bread for their benefit. 

 Their bread, by the way, is sold by an 

 Italian, v»?ho must certainly be in col- 

 lusion with the Doves, for whenever 

 a stranger makes his appearance, both 

 Doves and bread vender are at hand 

 to beg. 



The most remarkable fact in con- 

 nection with these Doves is that they 

 will collect in no other place in large 



numbers than San Marco Square, and 

 in particular at the vestibule of San 

 Marco Church. True, they are found 

 perched on buildings throughout the 

 entire city, and occasionally we will 

 find a few in various streets picking 

 refuse, but they never appear in great 

 numbers outside of San Marco Square. 

 The ancient bell tower, which is situ- 

 ated on the west side of the place, is 

 a favorite roosting place for them, and 

 on this perch they patiently wait for a 

 foreigner, and proceed to bleed him 

 after approved Italian fashion. 



There are several legends connected 

 with the Doves of Venice, each of 

 which attempts to explain the peculiar 

 veneration of the Venetian and the 

 extreme liberty allowed these har- 

 bingers of peace. The one which 

 struck me as being the most appro- 

 priate is as follows : 



Centuries ago Venice was a free 

 city, having her own government, 

 navy, and army, and in a manner was 

 considered quite a power on land and 

 sea. The city was ruled by a Senate 

 consisting of ten men, who were called 

 Doges, who had absolute power, which 

 they used very often in a despotic and 

 cruel manner, especially where politi- 

 cal prisoners were concerned. On 

 account of the riches the city con- 

 tained, and also its values as a port, 

 Venice was coveted by Italy and neigh- 

 boring nations, and, as a consequence, 

 was often called upon to defend itself 

 with rather indifferent success. In 

 fact, Venice was conquered so often, 

 first by one and then another, that 

 Venetians were seldom certain of how 

 they stood. They knew not whether 

 they were slave or victor. It was 

 during one of these sieges that the inci- 

 dent of the Doves occured. The city 

 had been besieged for a long time by 

 Italians, and matters were coming to 

 such a pass that a surrender was abso- 



loo 



