. Mediæval and modern history . gress under the newregime. Yet very much hasbeen accomplished since thewinning of independence andnationality. Brigandage, anelement of the bad heritagefrom the time of servitude, op-pression, and disunion, hasbeen in a great degree sup-pressed; railways have beenbuilt; the Alps have been tun-neled; the healthfulness of theCampagna and other districtshas been increased by exten-sive systems of drainage, andregions long given over to deso-lation have been made habit-able and productive; the dense ignorance and the deep moraldegradation of the masses, particularly
. Mediæval and modern history . gress under the newregime. Yet very much hasbeen accomplished since thewinning of independence andnationality. Brigandage, anelement of the bad heritagefrom the time of servitude, op-pression, and disunion, hasbeen in a great degree sup-pressed; railways have beenbuilt; the Alps have been tun-neled; the healthfulness of theCampagna and other districtshas been increased by exten-sive systems of drainage, andregions long given over to deso-lation have been made habit-able and productive; the dense ignorance and the deep moraldegradation of the masses, particularly in the southern parts ofthe peninsula,— another element of the evil inheritance from thepast,— have been in a measure overcome and relieved by a publicsystem of education; and Rome has been rebuilt, and from theposition of a mean provincial town raised to a place among thegreat capitals of modern Europe. As to the progress made during the last fifty years in thedevelopment of the sentiment of nationality, upon the strength. Fig. 103. Pope Benedict XV(From a photograph by Rtischin) 552 LIBERATION AND UNIFICATION OF ITALY [§632 of which depends the peace, permanency, and prosperity of thenew kingdom of Italy, a comparatively recent disaster furnishesa milestone by which to measure advance. In 1902 the greathistoric campanile which dominated St. Marks in Venice fellin a pathetic heap of ruins. Every city of the peninsula, says achronicler of the event, mourned just as if the tower had beenits own,— and then they opened a subscription. Had thecatastrophe happened a few decades earlier Venice would havehad to restore her own bell tower; but Italy is to-day a Nation,and the misfortune which befalls any Italian city afflicts all alike.^In 1915 Italy was drawn into the maelstrom of the World Warthen raging, so that here her story properly becomes a part ofthe story of that tremendous struggle. Selections from the Sources. Mazzini, Life a)id Writings (should beread by all those
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