New Britain Herald Newspaper, December 12, 1930, Page 31

% i | N % N | N § i 5 iy P e S B | i st O I IR RO I3 RO 011 B ORI 8. R OW D0 200 im0 700000 RT o 7. His Leap, Which Sent ] .2 Romantic Marcello 5. / £ CEREMONIAL SPLENDOR This Is the Brilliantly Lighted Interior of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Photo Was Taken in Connection with the Canonization of a New Saint. Only on Rare Occasions Does the Church Dress Itself in Such incandescent Grandeur. ROME. EARLY every cathedral in the 0Old World has been used at some time as a jumping-off place for suicides. The great heights of such structures offer a surer deaththan the usually low European dwellings and public buildings. It was remarkable, therefore, that until recently St. Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City, had never been the scene of such an unfortunate occurrence since its erection more than three cen- turies ago. _But the other day one of the many pilgrims who visit the edifice jumped to his death after making his way to the cupola. Why he climbed to the top of the great dome and then plunged 400 feet to the ground provides a strange and tragic story. But even more curious was the manmner of his fall. For after jumping from the cupola window he bounced against the dome that stretched out below him and then ricochetted to the pavement below. The pilgrim was Marcello Nitrati, thirty-three, of the town of Cortena. According to the story that is being told here, Nitrati was in love with a HAT current prob- lem troubling ath- letic experts— “When is an amateur not an amateur?”—was set- tled in a convicing fashion recently in Hungary. It concerned Magda Lenkey, 15, who has the unique reputation of be- a circus clown by profes- sion and a swimming champion by aspiration. Her father, a retired showman, taught her the tricks of the circus ring and she became a favorite with Budapest audiences. Last Summer Magda took up swimming. She was so clever that in the very first race she established herself as Hungary’s champion swimmer l?y making 100 meters and 109 yards in one minute and 16.4 seconds. But Magda’s achievement gave many other Hungarian amateur girl swim- mers a jealous fright. A clique of them, in training for the 1932 Olym- piad, decided they didn't want new- comers. So at the next contest not one of the clique appeared. The girls said they wouldn’t swim races ,with Magda because she was a pro: onal. A circus artist can’t be an a mer, the kirls said. But the pr public took sides with pretty, fun-lov- ing Magda. e Then the Swimming Association took up the matter and decreed that Magda was as good an amateur as the rest. The conspiring competitors were sen- tenced to one month’s abstinence from training on the charge of false accusa- tions ugainst a fellow team member. » During that month Magda caught up girl who lives in the Italian capital. He had come here purposely to see her and ca grief-stricken. His friends noticed that he was despondent and talked wildly of suicide. Then one day he joined many others in a pil- grimage to St. Peter’s Basilica. When he decided to make the ascent to the top of the dome no one suspected any- thing wrong. Indeed, thousands of visitors to Rome make the pilgrimage to St. Peter's every year. They come, not only for religious reasons but also to see the artistically and historically fa- mous structure. This bears the handi- work of the famous sculptors, Bramante and Michelangelo. Pope Constantine founded St. Peter’s in the fourth century but its reco uction was not begun until 1506 by Bramante. In 1546 the great sculptor, Michelangelo, was summoned by Pope Paul III to complete Bra- mante’s work. Michelangelo’s greatest achievement, so far as St. Peter’s is concerned, is the design for the beautiful dome. Within it may be found his brilliant SHE BREAKS RECORDS Pretty Magda Lenkey Also Broke the Hearts of Some of Her Rivals When She Captured the Women’s Record in Hungary for 100 Meters. She Hopes to Compete in the 1932 Olympiad. with the best of them. Now she’s as- sured a e on the Hungarian team at the 1932 Olympaid at Los Angeles. She may be a clown—and some day she hopes to be a dancer—but so far as swimming is concerned, Magda IS an amateur. the Wide (Balow) A Close-up View of St. Peter's Golden Dome Photographed at an Angle and Showing How It Slopes Down Sharply to the Sup- porting Pillars. mosaics which adorn all the interior of the Basilica. The dome, as he con- ceived it, is also enlivened w 3 small cupolas and a few guard. There he placed four imposing statues which stand in o this day. To reach t! amous dome of St. Peter's used to require a good deal of climbing. From the body of the church only a narrow flight of stairs, with a slim handrail as support, led up to the top of the dome. Today, however, an IT'S SO EASY —That Is, If You Know How. Magda Lenkey, a Professional Circus Clown, Was Brought Up Under the Big Tent and Learned V‘«H the Acrobatic Tricks from Her Father. But She Also Has Dancing Aspirations. In the Photo Below, Magda Is Shown in a Spanish Dance Costume. “' Careening Out Over / elevator is in operation there. The various guards usually allow all visi- tors to go to the cupola, at the top of the dome, without question. That was how Pilgrim Nitrati got up there so easily. For a time he sat on the sill of one of the small windows in the cupola. A dome guardian approached him and asked what he was doing there. Nitrati’ he scenery—for it is true tk h a vantage poin hought nothing of this at time. The moment that the guard turned away, however, Nitrati leaped through the window. Yet he did not fall directly to fall, so that he ht have rolled down to the f h. But when ello Nitrati jumped from the cupola he landed on the dome w questioned—closely. HOW HE FELL As This Drawing Indicates, the Sloping Dome Would Have Made It Impossible for the Pilgrim to Fall Directly from the Cupola to the Street. Instead, He Might Have Rolled Down to the Base of the Dome, Which Rests on the Main Roof of the Church. But His Body Hit the Dome with Such Force That It Richochetted Over the Building and Crashed to the Ground Below. At Right Is Artist Louis Biedermann’s Sectional Drawing of St. Peter's Dome, Showing How Marcello Nitrati Jumped from the Cupola, Bounced Against the Dome and Fell to the Street. It Also Indicates Some of the Architectural Features of the Structure, Including the Statues, Which Were the Work of the Celebrated Michelangelo. Copyright, 190, Iatsraationa] Featws Service, Ine, Great Brials Kignu Reserved fut At Left, the Facade of Artistic Beauty, Particularly the Dome, Is Due to the Genius of the Famous Sculptor, Michelangelo. WHERE HE LEAPED The Upper Part of This Drawing Shows the Cupola on the Top of the Dome. The Star Denotes Where the Pilgrim Jumped to His Death. The Cupola Is Nearly 400 Feet Above the Street, and Is Visited by Many Sightseers, Where They Get a_Remarkable View of the Eternal City. My S—— : N