Art galleries, mail, and bath-houses

Could not sleep so got up at 3.30 and had a peppermint patty, and wrote a note to F.B. H. who has left Pellegrino and is on her way to Cortina to meet us. My letter is to catch her at Riva. I went to the Rialto to mail it and some postcards to Marion for bridge cards.

The Oudesluys went right on to the Belle Arte and I joined them there. They left before I did to see about lessons in book binding. Going through the galleries, I saw Miss Julie Lovelay and we had a nice little visit together. She is with a party of 19 people, 5 of whom are intimate friends and the conductor and his wife are friends. They go home in August and Miss L. goes to London – I was very glad to see her – Looked at all the masterpieces in the gallery and walked home over the bridge.

Mrs. O. stopped at Am. Ex. and got four letters for me. Margaret sent me 4 Kodak prints – very interesting. She also told me that Duncan fell and broke his arm and had to take ether to have it set. They had a terrible thunderstorm at the time. He likes the blocks I sent home. A nice letter from Hazel – one from Uncle Hugh and one from Miss Mary Witt.

Lay down a while after lunch and then we went to the Lido, took a tram to the big Excelsior Hotel which has a beautiful situation on the Adriatic and looked into the casino or bath-house and sat on the broad porch and watched the bathers. Then I went down and looked at the little individual bath houses. We came home in a double-decker steamer which only runs to San Marco. We walked the rest of the way.

After dinner we talked over plans about pensions in Cortina and in Belluno. I think I caught my gum in the clasp of my tooth for it is sore and aches somewhat.

Visiting the first Montessori School in San Lorenzo

Had b’fast in my room as usual. Was ready at 8:45, but the others were not and it was after nine before we started to visit the Montessori School in a poor part of the city.*



Got there a little before ten and I spent the rest of the morning there. There were over 30 children all dressed alike in pink gingham and a head teacher with assistant, both Italian. Children came up and shook hands, wrote on slate in very legible writing, drew flowers, vases, balloons, backs, and worked with different parts of the apparatus. They talked freely, but were nevertheless under much discipline and the teachers scolded them in loud voices.



Miss Patterson and Miss. Hayward left at 11. I stayed till 12:20. After they left, other children came in and teachers till there were 126 children and 10 teachers. The chairs and tables were taken out and then they tried to teach them a motion play. The teachers were so slow and so cross and spoke so very loudly while the children were models of patience, endurance. Altogether I was much disappointed. The teacher told Miss Patterson that it was the first school of its kind in point of time.

Couldn’t get a tram so walked to the T. station where I got no. 14. Lay down after lunch - also finished a letter to Percy - then went with Miss Wood to an exhibition of the best of American artists in Rome.** It was very interesting and the school and grounds are charming. Met Dr. Edmiston and his wife in the car going out. Miss Wood was invited by Mr. Thomas, a young artist from Buffalo, N.Y.

A letter from Helen which I answered at once. She says Florence seems to have very little reserve strength.

*The school, La Casa dei Bambini, was located in the San Lorenzo district. It first opened in 1907.
**”International Exhibition of Futurism” in the Galleria Futurista took place in Rome in April and May, 1914 and included American artists, but this is not necessarily what she saw.
**Or it could be the American Academy in Rome, which has a School of Fine Arts and frequent exhibits