Coarse

In a tiny garden situated upon the sunny expanse of the Square of Quiretti. in Rome, workmen erected a fountain whose light waters were to dance into the air and fall in a shower of silver sparks. The fountain was in the form of human figures, incompletely clothed; around the Square of Quiretti are numerous convents and educational institutions. The inmates of these houses disliked the fountain because of the nudity of its statuary; not long after its erection, Pope Pius XI himself sent deputies into the sunny plaza to gaze upon the fountain and determine the degree of its propriety.

This done, the deputies returned and made report. Last week L. Osservatore Romano, official press spokesman for the Vatican, passed judgment on the fountain. In an editorial, it urged Prince Potenziani, Governor of Rome, to remove the "coarse exhibition," under the police regulations which permit him to protect the public against indecency. The official unveiling of the statue was postponed; crowds came hustling into the Square and stared at the fountain, from which no water rose.