BRONZE DOORS RESTORATION
Late in 1917 five divisions of British troops arrived in the Veneto region to bolster the Italian army which had suffered a major defeat on the north east front at Caporetto (now in Slovenia). They were part of the final push which led to the defeat of the Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in November 1918, two weeks before the end of the First World War. Today the British and Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives in this largely forgotten campaign rest in a number of immaculately kept cemeteries in some of the more inaccessible parts of the Veneto, such as the Asiago plateau north of Vicenza.
The names of ten cemeteries are inscribed on bronze panels which flank the doors of the church; the doors themselves are made from the cannon of British warships, molten and recast in the Venice Arsenal and dedicated to the fallen on St George’s Day 1926 by the Bishop of Gibraltar. A contemporary document records that at the same moment, in the basilica of St Mark, the Patriarch of Venice ‘unwilling to be absent’ from the ceremony said the mass not only for those who in the Roll of Honour belonged to the Church of Rome, but for all.
St George's wishes to recognise the generous contributions to the restoration appeal made by the Venice in Peril Fund, the Hamish Parker Charitable Trust, the comune di Venezia, the comune d Calvene, and many individual donors.
The short film below shows a recent visit by Father Howard Levett, Churchwarden David Newbold and British Vice-Consul Ivor Coward, to the First World War Cemetery at Giavera di Montello.
http://vimeo.com/128818104
We were delighted to be able to welcome Mayor Andrea Pasin of Calvene on a recent visit to St Georges. Calvene is the site of one of the war graves inscribed on the bronze doors, and it was a pleasure to welcome Sig Pasin and his friends and colleagues to our church, and to explain its history and the long story of the Anglican community in this part of Italy.
We are immensely grateful to the Comune of Calvene for their generous contribution to the restoration fund, and are delighted to have established a friendship between our small community and the good people of Calvene.
The names of ten cemeteries are inscribed on bronze panels which flank the doors of the church; the doors themselves are made from the cannon of British warships, molten and recast in the Venice Arsenal and dedicated to the fallen on St George’s Day 1926 by the Bishop of Gibraltar. A contemporary document records that at the same moment, in the basilica of St Mark, the Patriarch of Venice ‘unwilling to be absent’ from the ceremony said the mass not only for those who in the Roll of Honour belonged to the Church of Rome, but for all.
St George's wishes to recognise the generous contributions to the restoration appeal made by the Venice in Peril Fund, the Hamish Parker Charitable Trust, the comune di Venezia, the comune d Calvene, and many individual donors.
The short film below shows a recent visit by Father Howard Levett, Churchwarden David Newbold and British Vice-Consul Ivor Coward, to the First World War Cemetery at Giavera di Montello.
http://vimeo.com/128818104
We were delighted to be able to welcome Mayor Andrea Pasin of Calvene on a recent visit to St Georges. Calvene is the site of one of the war graves inscribed on the bronze doors, and it was a pleasure to welcome Sig Pasin and his friends and colleagues to our church, and to explain its history and the long story of the Anglican community in this part of Italy.
We are immensely grateful to the Comune of Calvene for their generous contribution to the restoration fund, and are delighted to have established a friendship between our small community and the good people of Calvene.
Remembrance day
The formal rededication of the beautifully restored bronze doors took place on Remembrance Day 2015, in the presence of the British Ambassador to Italy, the mayors of many of the surrounding communities, and Don Raffaele from our local parish of the Gesuati.
Here are some images of a memorable, and moving, morning service.
Here are some images of a memorable, and moving, morning service.
|
|
|
