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THE SHORES OE THE ADRIATIC
THE AUSTRIAN SIDE
HERZEGOVINIAN WOMEN AT A BAKER'S SHOP IN RAGUSA
Frontispiece
THE SHORES OF THE ADRIATIC
THE AUSTRIAN SIDE
THE KUSTENLANDE, ISTRIA, AND DALMATIA By F. HAMILTON JACKSON, R.B.A.
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF DECORATIVE DESIGNERS CANTOR LECTURER, ETC.
FULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH PLANS, DRAWINGS BY THE
AUTHOR, AND PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN SPECIALLY
FOR THIS WORK
LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1908
PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD. LONDON AND AYLESBURY.
PREFACE
This volume is complementary to that dealing with the Italian side of the Adriatic, and follows much the same lines. It has not been thought necessary to repeat what appeared there about the sea itself, but some further details on the subject have been added in an introductory chapter. The concluding chapter treats of the influence which the two coasts exerted on each other, and contains some hints as to certain archaeological problems of great interest, which deserve fuller and more individual treatment than they can receive in such a work as the present.
In a country which still contains so much that is unfamiliar, so many mediaeval survivals in customs and costume, and so much that is fine in scenery, architecture, and the decorative arts, the picturesque aspect of the country has been dwelt upon more than was the case in dealing with the Italian side, and the meticulous description of buildings has to a great extent been abandoned, except in cases where it was necessary for the full understanding of the deductions drawn from existing details. At the same time, matters of archaeology have not been neglected, and the rich remains of mediaeval goldsmiths' work have received special attention. The costume, the customs, and the folk-lore of the Morlacchi are also treated of in considerable detail.
The determination of the Croat majority to stamp out the Italian language by insisting upon instruction
vi PREFACE
in the schools being given solely in Croat will, in the course of a generation, make Italian a foreign language understood by few ; and it seems wise for those who desire to visit Dalmatia to do so soon, while it is still understood and before Italian culture is forgotten.
The present work does not pretend to in any way rival Mr. T. G. Jackson's classic volumes on the architecture of the country, in completeness of historical treatment or architectural detail. Though Sir Gardner Wilkinson had published a book on the country, and the brothers Adam's full description of Diocletian's Palace was well known to connoisseurs, he may be said to have practically discovered Dalmatia for the Englishman ; and it is a proof of the excellence of his work that, though twenty years have elapsed since it was published, it has never been surpassed, and its value remains undiminished. To these volumes the author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness, as well as to the " Mittheilungen " of the Austrian Central Commission for the Conservation of Historical Monu- ments ; the " Bullettino di Storia Dalmata," con- ducted by Mgr. Bulic at Spalato ; .the " Atti " of the Istrian " Societa di Archeologia e Storia Patria," published at Parenzo ; and the " Archeografo Triestino," published at Trieste, all chronicling discoveries as they were made, and containing articles giving interesting and reliable information upon the history and antiqui- ties of the coast. In addition, the following works have been consulted :
Freeman's "Subject Lands of Venice"; Munro's " Rambles and Studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina" ; Neale's "Travels in Dalmatia" ; Villari's " Ragusa" ; Benussi's " LTstria " ; Bianchi's " Zara Cristiana " and " Antichita Romane e mediaevale di Zara " ; Mgr. Bulic's " Guide to Spalato and Salona " ; Caprin's " II Trecento a Trieste," " Alpi Gulie," and " LTstria noblissima " ;
PREFACE vii
Carrara's " La Dalmazia descritta " ; Chiudina's " Le Castella di Spalato " ; Fabianich's " La Dalmazia ne primi cinque secoli del Cristianesimo " ; Fosco's " La Cathedrale di Sebenico"; Franceschi's " L'Istria " ; Gelcich's " Memorie storiche delle Bocche di Cattaro" and " Dello Sviluppo civile di Ragusa"; Lago's " Memorie sulla Dalmazia " ; Lucio's " History of Dal- matia and Trau " ; Ludwig and Molmenti's " Vittore Carpaccio"; Mantegazza's " L'Altra Sponda " ; Mod- rich's " La Dalmazia " ; Pasini's " II Tesoro di S. Marco in Venezia " ; Cav. G. B. di Rossi's " La Capsella Argen- tea africana," &c, and the two series of " Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana " ; Sabalich's " Guida Archeo- logica di Zaza " ; Tamaro's " Le Citta dell' Istria " ; and volumes of the Zara " Annuario Dalmatico " ; Bamber- ger's " Blaues Meer und Schwarze Berge " ; Danilo's u Dalmatien " ; "Die Monarchic in Wort und Bild " ; Eitelberger von Edelberg's " Gesammelte Kunsthis- torischen Schriften " ; Hauser's " Spalato und die monumente Dalmatiens " ; Heider's " Mittelaltliche Kunst denkmale des (Esterreichischen Kaiserstaates " ; Passarge's " Dalmatien und Montenegro "; Petermann's " Fiihrer durch Dalmatien " ; Tomasin's " Die Volk- stamme im Gebiete von Triest und in Istrien"; Von Warsberg's " Dalmatien " ; and Count Lanckoronski's magnificent monograph of the Cathedral of Aquileia. A small portion of the matter of this volume has appeared in The Builder and The Guardian, but has been revised and, to a great extent, rewritten. The author's thanks are due to the proprietors for per- mission to republish these articles. He desires to express his thanks also to the Austrian Government especially, and to the ecclesiastical authorities, for special facilities very kindly afforded him for prose- cuting his studies ; to the Central Commission, for the loan of cliches of most of the plans ; to the directorate
viii PREFACE
of the Archeografo Triestino, for permission to re- produce the plan of the cathedral, Trieste; to the Istrian Archaeological Society, for the plan of the three cathedrals of Parenzo, and for permission, very courteously given by the president, Dr. Amoroso, to use anything published by them on the subject ; to Mgr. Bulic, Sig. Maionica, Curator of the Museum, Aquileia, and to Sig. Puschi, of the Museum, Trieste, for much information kindly given by word of mouth ; and to Mr. Palmer, Librarian of the Art Library, South Kensington, for calling his attention to several books which were exceedingly useful.
The photographs (as in the Italian volume) are from the excellent negatives of Mr. Cooper Ashton, the travelling companion of many foreign archaeological expeditions.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface v
Lists of Illustrations and Plans .... xi-xv
I. Introductory Chapter i
II. The Races and their Customs .... 6
III. Aquileia 23
IV. Grado 41
V. Grado to Trieste 54
VI. Historical Sketch of Istria . . . .69
VII. MUGGIA TO PlRANO 79
VIII. Umago to Parenzo 104
IX. Parenzo 107
X. To Pola by Sea 127
XL To Pola by Land 133
XII. Pola 143
XIII. Characteristics of the Istrian Coast . . . 160
XIV. FlUME AND VEGLIA 163
XV. OSSERO AND CHERSO l8o
XVI. Historical Sketch of Dalmatia .... 187
XVII. Arbe 192
XVIII. Zara 205,
ix b
x CONTENTS
PAGE
XIX. Sebenico 245
XX. Trau and the Riviera dei Sette Castelli . 262
XXI. Spalato 292
XXII. The Southern Group of Islands . . . 316
XXIII. Ragusa 333
XXIV. The Bocche di Cattaro 369
XXV. The Reciprocal Influences of the Two Shores 397
Index 409
ILLUSTRATIONS
I. FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
Herzegovinian Women at a Baker's Shop in Ragusa Statue of Venus, Museum, Aquileia . Pulpit in the Cathedral, Grado .... Shipping at Trieste : the Canal, with the Greek Church
and Sant* Antonio
Pirano, from near the Cathedral ....
Marble Capital of the Sixth Century, Parenzo .
High-altar, Parenzo, from the South Aisle .
Wine-boats in the Fiumara Canal, Fiume .
South Portion of Choir-screen, Cathedral, Veglia
The Harbour of Besca Nova
Chimneys at Besca Nova .
Monstrance in Colleggiata, Ossero
Smergo Fishermen
Ascent to the Ramparts, Zara .
Carving on Right Jamb of West Door, Cathedral, Trau
Interior of the Cathedral, Trau
Door of the " Atrio Rotondo," Palace of Diocletian
Spalato
Interior of the Cathedral, Spalato
Panel from Guvina's Doors of the Cathedral, Spalato
Stall-backs in Choir, Cathedral, Spalato .
A Morlacco Family, between Salona and Clissa
Travelling at ease : among the Islands
Herzegovinian Charcoal Porter, Gravosa .
Frontispiece Facing page 36
45
57
97
113
116
163
173
176 178 184 186 205 272 276
294 296 299 300 314 329 334
Xll
ILLUSTRATIONS
Reliquary of the Head of S. Blaise, Cathedral
Treasury, Ragusa
Cloister of the Dominican Convent, Ragusa Lavabo in Sacristy of Franciscan Convent, Ragusa Loggia of Rector's Palace, Ragusa Capital from the Loggia, Rector's Palace, Ragusa iEsculapius Capital, Rector's Palace, Ragusa . Fountain of Onofrio di La Cava, Ragusa . Reliquary of the Head of S. Trifone, Cattaro . Albanian Horse-dealers, Cattaro
Facing page 343
349 353 354 355 356 357 384 388
II. FULL-PAGE LINE DRAWINGS
Narthex of the Cathedral, Aquileia .
A Corner in Grado
The Patriarch's Throne, Cathedral, Grado Choir-screen and Ambo, Muggia Vecchia . The " Fontico " and S. Giacomo, Capodistria . The Piazza da Ponte, Capodistria The Inner Harbour, Pirano .... Opus Sectile in the Apse, Cathedral, Parenzo . The Atrium and Western Facade, Cathedral, Parenzo View across the Nave, Cathedral, Parenzo An Istrian Farm-house
Interior of the Basilica, San Lorenzo
Entrance to the Castle, Pisino .
An Angle of the Castle, San Vincenti
Arch of the Sergii, Pola .
The Amphitheatre, Pola .
West Doorway, S. Francesco, Pola
Interior of the Cathedral, Veglia
In the Harbour, Besca Nova
The Main Street, Besca Nova .
Lussin Grande . . .
West Door of the Colleggiata, Ossero
The Landing-place, Arbe .
The Porta Marina, Zara .
in Pasenatico
35
42 46 81 90 92
94 114 119 121 133 134 137 *39 145 146
154 171
175 177 181 183 193 207
ILLUSTRATIONS
Xlll
North Door of Western Facade, Cathedral, Zara
Apse of S. Crisogono, Zara
Entrance to the Town of Nona .
Eastern End of Cathedral, Sebenico .
Late Venetian-Gothic Doorway, Sebenico .
South-east Portion of Choir, Cathedral, Sebenico
Belfry of Greek Church, Sebenico
The Porta Marina and Custom House, Trau
The Porta S. Giovanni, Trau
A Decayed Palace, Trau ....
The Quay, Castel Vecchio ....
The Porta Aurea, Spalato ....
Italian Fruit and Vegetable Boats, Spalato
Cloister of S. Francesco, Spalato
Osteria at Salona
Basilica of the Christian Cemetery, Salona
Porta Pile, Ragusa
Torre Menze and Fort S. Lorenzo, Ragusa
La Sponza and Onofrio's Fountain, Ragusa
The Ruined Bastion, Castelnuovo, Bocche di Cattaro
Dobrota, Bocche di Cattaro
Ciborium of S. Trifone, Cattaro .
S. Luka, Cattaro
The Scuola Nautica, Cattaro
Facing page 220 230
239 248
253 254 257 265 266 282 287 293 303 305 310 312 336
337 359 373
378 383 385 386
III. LINE DRAWINGS IN TEXT
Knocker of the Rector's Palace, Ragusa . Antique Statue in the Museum, Aquileia . Figure of S. Giusto, Campanile of the Cathedral, Trieste
Arco di Riccardo, Trieste
West End of the Church, Muggia Vecchia Knocker on Palazzo Tacco, Capodistria . Greek Benedict ional Cross, Parenzo . Sarcophagus of S. Eufemia, Rovigno Wayside Chapel outside San Vincenti Stall on the Wine-quay, Fiume ....
On Title page 37
63 65
80
91 117 130
140
164
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS
Veglia, showing the Castle Towers .... Reliquary of the Head of Sant Christopher . .
Arbe, from the Shore
Morlacco Girl, Zara .
Going to Market, Zara
Altar of Sant' Anastasia, Zara
Reliquary of Sant' Orontius, Zara .... Reliquary of the Clothes of Our Lord, S. Maria Nuova,
Zara
Costume of Sebenico .......
Late Gothic Lintel at Trau
A Quaint Costume, Trau
Reliquaries and Chalice, Treasury, Spalato Cathedral Morse in the Treasury, Spalato Cathedral
Porta Maggiore, Lesina
West Door of the Cathedral, Curzola .... Head Reliquary in Cathedral, Ragusa Reliquary of the Jaw of S. Stephen of Hungary
A Corner of the Walls, Cattaro
Montenegrins in the Market, Cattaro Early Greek Ship, from Millingen's Vases
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IV. PLANS AND SECTIONS
Plan of the Cathedral, Aquileia
Plan of the Cathedral, Trieste .
Plan of Pulpit, Muggia Vecchia
Plan of the Three Basilicas, Parenzo .
Plan of S. Maria Formosa, Pola
Plans of S. Donato, Zara ....
Plans and Section of S. Lorenzo, Zara . Between pages 216
Plan of Foundations discovered on the Riva Nuova,
Zara
Plan of the Cathedral, Zara Plan of Cathedral Crypt, Zara . Plan of S. Nicold, Nona . . Plan and Sections, S. Barbara, Trau
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ILLUSTRATIONS xv
Plan of the Cathedral, Trau
Plan of Cathedral and Campanile, Spalato Plan of the Dominican Convent, Ragusa . Plan and Elevation of one Bay of Cloister, Dominican
Convent, Ragusa
Plan of La Sponza, Ragusa
Plan of the Cathedral, Cattaro
Map of Istria and Dalmatia ....
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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
The two shores of the Adriatic are totally different in their natural characteristics ; the western being almost islandless and destitute of harbours, while the eastern is fringed by an almost continuous chain of islands and possesses several magnificent harbours which communicate with the open sea by narrow channels easily fortified, the rocks rising precipitously from the water along the greater part of the coast, whereas on the Italian side there is an equally con- tinuous strip of alluvial plain between the foothills and the sea.
The Adriatic was once bounded by a kind of ridge stretching from Monte Gargano to Albania. North of this line the depth is much less than in the Ionian Sea. When the surface of the earth sank, the Dalmatian islands were formed by the letting in of the sea. The depth near Parenzo is about 120 ft. ; in the Quarnero, near Fiume, 195 ft. ; between Cherso and Arbe, 335 ft. ; and south-west of the island Zuri (some 24 miles from the mainland), about 700 ft. Depths as great as 335 ft. to 490 ft. are, however, not very common within nine miles of the mainland. In the Bocche di Cattaro the depth near the mouth is 165 ft., but half a mile west of the Punta d'Ostro, 335 ft. North of the line from Monte Gargano to Pelagosa, Cazza, and Curzola it is never as much as 780 ft. ; south-east of this line the
2 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
bottom sinks so much that between Cattaro and Brindisi it reaches a depth of over 5,000 ft. The tide is scarcely perceptible, and the currents are very slight. The land is still sinking, as is proved by the Roman sarcophagi found beneath the water at Vranjic and the submerged roads between Aquileia and Grado ; while there are records of the destruction of ancient towns from sudden subsidences, as that of Cissa, near Rovigno. The subsidence has been calculated as about a yard in 1,000 years. Cluverius proves from Ptolemy that in antiquity the name Adriatic only applied to that part of the gulf which lay to the north of a line between Monte Gargano and Durazzo. A passage of Strabo, describing the people of Epirus, runs : " The Adriatic being ended, the Ionian commences, the first shore of which is in the neighbourhood of Epidamnus and Apol- lonia." When Venice conquered Durazzo the limits of the Adriatic were extended, and it was thenceforth called the Gulf of Venice. In 1859 tne almost incredible fact is recorded that it was frozen for several days !
The Austrian provinces which lie along the coast are, commencing at the north, the Kiistenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia. In the first the Julian Alps form a great boundary wall to the plain of the Isonzo, from which the ground rises between Monfalcone and Na- bresina to the stony district of the Karst. The Istrian ranges are spurs from this lofty plateau, the chain cul- minating in Monte Maggiore, north-west of Fiume. All these heights belong to the Julian Alps. Beyond Fiume, southwards, there are three principal mountain chains, all of which have much the same formation of limestone, pale brownish or grey in colour, with fossils and streaks of other colours. The first is the Dinaric Alps or Velebits, a continuation of the Julian Alps. These separate Dalmatia from Bosnia as far as Imoschi, where they enter Herzegovina, finally joining the Monte-
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LAND 3
negrin chain. The chain of the shore commences on the left bank of the Kerka and extends to the Narenta, which cuts it. It runs as far as Trebinje, beyond the river. The Montenegrin mountains, which are so impressive above the Bocche di Cattaro, joining with those of the Herzegovina, make the third chain. The islands and rocks in the sea appear to be submarine branches of the littoral chain ; the strata lie in the same direction — in the North Dalmatian islands to the north- west, in the Southern to the west. On the peninsula of Sabbioncello they lie partly in one and partly in the other direction. The former connection between the islands and the mainland is proved by the remains of rhinoceros, horse, and stag in the diluvial bone breccias of Lesina, and the survival of the jackal in Giuppana, Curzola, and Sabbioncello. Geologists hold that the deeply cut bays of Sabbioncello and Gravosa, as well as of the Bocche di Cattaro, and the step-shaped sink- ings of the northern and eastern limestone mountains towards the Adriatic basin are signs of the tearing away of the islands from the mainland, perhaps through the' destruction of the permeable strata.
These generally show in their forms the craggy and stony character of the Dinaric Alps, rising perpendicu- larly from the water on the side of the prevailing wind, and without vegetation. On the other side are softer hills and plains with southern vegetation, the aromatic scents from which are carried by the breeze. There are about twenty large islands, some of which are over 30 miles long ; but the number may be raised to a hundred by counting in the small ones. They are generally in groups or chains, though some are isolated. The water is generally deep up to the shore, so there are very few sandbanks.
The greater portion of the naked surface of the land is formed of limestone and dolomites, which are closely
4 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
related : there are also, on the lower levels, grey or red sands, among which schistous loams of uniform colour predominate. These two formations stretch from one end of the province to the other in sloping beds. They are interrupted here and there by loam and schistous clay and horizontal beds of a kind of limestone : below these are lignites and chalky limestone, in which shells are found belonging to a later formation. The oldest formations are the volcanic mountains near Knin and on Lissa. Next follow the trias strata, as under the Velebits and westwards from Sinj, then the sandstone beds, the different eocene beds and alluvial strata, as in the plain of Dernis, north of the Vrana Lake, by Nona and Imoski. The principal characteristic of the Karst district (to which Dalmatia belongs geologically) is the way the water flows, sometimes above, sometimes under ground. Where the woods were cut down to supply the Romans and Venetians with material for constructing their fleets, and where natural afforestation has been stopped by the feeding of sheep and goats, the red earth has either been washed away by the rains or blown away by the winds, so that it is only in the hollows that cultivation can be carried on.
The bitter north wind, the Bora, is the curse of the district. In the island of Arbe it sometimes blows even in June and July, stripping the vineyards as if hundreds of men had been at work, and carrying the salt spray all over the island, to the great detriment of vegetation. It is sometimes strong enough to upset pedestrians, and it is said that if it were not for it, there would be neither winter nor cold in the Dalmatian littoral. On the heights winter begins in November and lasts till April, with heavy snowfalls ; but on the coast spring begins in February, and winter only at the beginning of December. The summer, which commences in May, is usually rainless, with the heat tempered by sea-breezes,
TREES AND FLOWERS 5
though at the end of August heavy rains commence, and in autumn the frequent changes of temperature are dangerous. The flora consists of nearly 2,500 species, described by Visiani in his " Flora Dalmatica." The aquatic flora contains nearly 700 varieties, many of theseaweeds being exclusively Dalmatian. Views on the coast of Ragusa, or at Castelnuovo, in the Bocche, re- semble those of Sardinia and Sicily. On one side may be seen green meadows, fruit trees, flowing water, corn- fields, beechwoods, &c. ; on the other, olive groves, thickets of arbutus, hedge plants the height of a tree, myrtles, and bay ; on the naked rock aloes grow and the opuntia ; in gardens, dwarf and date-palms, unprotected cycas revoluta, and orange and lemon trees ; and wide valleys are filled with lofty carob trees — so close are the boundaries between the flora of middle Europe and of the Mediterranean. Almonds flower in December, and peas and beans are often gathered at Christmas. At Cannosa the date-palm ripens its fruit, and flowers are always to be seen. The Euphorbia Dendroides grows as high as in Crete, and rosemary bushes are frequently up to the shoulder of a man. In August the Syrian hibiscus is violet-red and the scarlet-red arbutus fruit hangs till Christmas. On Monte Marjan, near Spalato, where Diocletian had his parks, the sheltered aspect creates a tropical climate. Wild aloes grow 6 ft. high, and in midwinter numbers of field flowers may be picked as if it were spring.
v
II
THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
The people of Istria and Dalmatia are a very mixed race, as might be expected from the history of the countries. On these shores and islands were Greek colonies and Roman municipia, which have left their trace in the names of places and families. Greek colonies were at Issa (Lissa), Pharia (Lesina), Epetium (Stobrec), Tragurium (Trau), Melita (Meleda), Corcyra (Curzola), Buta (Budua), and Ambrachia (Brazza), to name some of those which have survived as towns to the present day. Roman family names occur especially round Spalato, such as Lutia (Lucio), Caepia (Cippico), Valeria (Valeri), Junia(Giunio), Coceia (Coceich), Marcia (Marce), Cassia (Cassio), Caelia (Celio), and Statilia (Statileo). Byzantine names testify to the rule of Byzan- tium, such asPaleologo, Lascaris, Andronico, Grisogono, Catacumano. In Istria there is a considerable admixture of German blood ; on the rocks of Zara the Crusaders abandoned sick Frenchmen ; whilst thither and to Spalato also came Ghibellines in exile. Franks, Croats, Bosniaks, Hungarians, Genoese, Neapolitans, and above all, Venetians have held sway over portions of the coast at different times. Families of Hungarian and Bosnian gentlemen established the free commune of Poglizza ; exiles from Spain, Jews, for the most part driven out in 1492, established themselves at Spalato and Ragusa ; Lombards descended upon the coasts and islands ;
SURVIVALS OF DIFFERENT RACES 7
and Venetians commenced to establish themselves in Dalmatia in the eleventh century, Istria coming even earlier more or less under their influence. In 1552, in the Council of Zara, out of seventeen noble families more than two-thirds were of Italian descent ; and at Lesina the proportion was even greater. At Zara the Italians still preponderate, but the Slav element is in the majority in the greater part of Dalmatia, and even in the country parts of Istria. There are also many French, Hungarians, Bosniaks, Herzegovinians, Ger- mans, Swiss, and gypsies, the Slav majority increasing towards the south.
In Istria the present inhabitants may be divided into Italians, Roumanians, and Slavs : to the last division belong the Morlacchi, the Tschitsches, Slovens, and Croats. The Italians are the most intelligent portion of the population, and are craftsmen, large occupiers of land, merchants, and sailors. They are the descendants of those who were subjects of Venice from the fourteenth century till the fall of the Republic. The Slovens were in Istria as early as the eighth century, and Paulus Diaconus mentions them as being near Cividale. Re- cords exist of Croats raids in the tenth century, whilst further south there were two great immigrations — the first, in the seventh century, by the "Belocroats," called by Porphyrogenitus, Croats, from the banks of the Elbe, descendants of whom may to-day be found in the islands ; and the second, in the fourteenth century, by the people of Rascia, who now inhabit much of the interior and are known as " Morlacchi,' ' a name derived from the Slav " Mauro vlach," the black Wallachs.
According to Lucio, who refers to William of Tyre, all Dalmatians used the Roman language until 1200. After the Croats came down, the name of " Dalmatian/' strictly speaking, belonged only to the cities of Zara, Trau, Spalato, and Ragusa, to the western islands of
8 THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
Dalmatia, and to Lissa and Lagosta — Eastern Dal- matia was a Servian province ; Western, a Croatian. It is known that Slavs came in 1463 to Salvore, in 1526 to the district of Rovigno, in 1549 t° *ne district of Citta- nova, Montona, Parenzo, and Pola, in 1595 to Fontane, in 1624 and 1634 (the plague years) to Fillipano, 1647 to near Pola, and 1650 to Peroi, near Fasano. Those now there came from the Bocche and Montenegro, settled in 1658-1659 by Doge Giovanni Pesaro, after the great plague. The women still wear the ancient costume. The Slavs are most numerous between Dragogna and Trieste. Procopius gives an interesting description of them worth quoting : " The two nations of the Autars and the Slavs know no monarchical government ; but from ancient times live freely in common fashion. They take all questions of great importance or difficulty to a common national council. The customs of the two nations are alike in every- thing else. These barbarians believe, by an article of faith transmitted from their ancestors, that, among many, there is one sole master of all things, whom they look upon as the author of the thunder ; and to him they sacrifice bulls and other victims. They do not know what the goddess Fortune may be, nor believe that she has any influence on human affairs. When they feel themselves threatened by death, either by ill- ness or wounds given in battle, they are told to promise a sacrifice to God if they escape the danger. Then, if they soon get about again, they fulfil the vow, firmly persuaded that by it they have recovered their health. They offer worship to woods, to nymphs, and other genii, immolating victims to them, and prophesying in the act. They live in rough huts far away from each other, and often change the situation. The greater part of them fight on foot, armed with shield and with darts, but without corslet. Some of them do not wear
PROCOPIUS ON THE SLAVS 9
their ordinary clothes in battle, but draperies which scarcely reach to the thigh, and so they present them- selves to the enemy. They all speak the same bar- barous tongue, nor differ much in appearance, but are all tall and powerful. The colour of the flesh and the hair is neither vermilion nor brown, but reddish. They live a somewhat fatiguing life, somewhat neglected and uncultivated, like the Massagetae, and, like them, on sordid food. They are not cunning, nor evildoers, but follow the customs of the Huns in sacking and rapine. They possess vast lands and occupy the greater part of the further bank of the Danube." They have retained many characteristics of an earlier age, though not of the period of Procopius.
The men are tall and muscular, with strongly marked features. Their eyes are generally either grey or blue, the forehead broad and prominent, the teeth white and strong, the hair sometimes blonde, but rang- ing through all shades to black, and the countenance intelligent and expressive. The boys herd the flocks barefoot and half naked, so that their skin is always bronzed, and the men generally have bare breasts. Their sight and hearing are remarkably keen, and in Dalmatia they can make themselves heard from one hill to another, a feat which is partly owing to the quality of the air. Their excellent health enables them to support all kinds of hardships ; they sleep out of doors (covering the head), except in winter, at which season they stay a good deal by the fire, though they may be seen in the city with icicles on their hairy chests. They have neither stoves, chimneys, nor glass in the windows. A case of a monk has been recorded, who, at the age of 105, made watches and read with the naked eye, ate and drank, walked and " wept " like a boy of twenty. The costume is distinctive and, with slight variations, is worn throughout Dalmatia. In
io THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
Istria there are considerable differences both in colour and form. " The Morlacco in full dress has on his head the kapa, a cap of scarlet cloth, with black embroidery on the border and hanging fringe on one side ; in some districts bordering on Bosnia a rich band of silk or coloured wools is twisted round it. Over the skirt of rough linen (the kosulja), open to show the breast, is the krozet, a waistcoat crossed on the breast with flat buttons of silver, or tin, and embroidery ; it is bound to the sides with a girdle (pas) made of red strings. The trousers (benevrechi) are of a coarse blue cloth fitting to the legs and very tight at the calf, below which they are split up and fastened by sponje, copper or silver hooks. The stockings (nazubei) are of wool of various patterns. The shoes (opanci) have a sole of ox- leather and uppers of strips of dried sheeps' skin (opute) : a longer oputa passes several times round the ankle and holds the shoe firm ; it turns up at the toe and looks quite Oriental. Instead of the krozet, or over it, some wear the jacerma, a sleeveless red cloth jacket, covered in front with little discs of tin (siliki), or large balls of silver (toke), or by rows of coins. And over the pas they have the pasnjaca, a band of red leather covering part of the abdomen, with various divisions, in which they used to carry their rich arms, pistols, knives, &c., now filled with the pipe, pipe-cleaner, britva, a very small scimitar with a bone handle, and a small knife in a sheath. Finally, there is the koporan, a jacket with sleeves of blue cloth, with embroidery on the elbows and back ; but few Morlacchi wear it.
" The women have a large handkerchief (jacmak) on their heads, embroidered on the borders ; instead of the kosulja, or above it, they have the oplece — that is, the coverer of the shoulders ; it is closed at the neck, em- broidered on the breast, and on the ample sleeves also. Round the neck is the gerdan, several strings of glass
COSTUME OF THE MORLACCHI n
beads of different colours ; it is bound at the stomach by the litar, a long band of leather a couple of inches wide covered with little tin discs and very heavy. From the litar hang the britva and a lot of keys, by chains, which are sometimes costly. The gown (vustan) is of blue cloth, but in summer of linen, reaching to the middle of the calf. The apron (prejaca, or, in Venetian, travesa) is always a chef-d'oeuvre of workmanship, which the Morlacca thinks a deal of. The footwear is com- posed of three parts : bicve, of blue cloth reaching up to the knee, tightly laced up with little hooks, and finishing at the ankle in a ring ; over them the true stockings (nazubei)oi rough wool, with patternsin vivid colours and opanci, or filare, like the men's. The girl does not have the litar ; on her head is no jacmak, but a red cloth cap, sparkling with antique or modern coins of silver, and occasionally of gold. In some places the girl has on her bosom the gendar, several rows of coins which hang from the neck, sometimes below the stomach, tinkling at every step ; this is her dowry, and sometimes worth as much as £50. When she is married she puts off the gendar and sparkling kapa. The men used to have a pigtail, of which they were very proud. The wife used to comb it twice a month, anoint it with butter, and tie up the end with ribbons and amulets. It was the only time when a Morlacco addressed his wife affectionately. In barracks and in prison the hair is cut, so the pigtail is rarely seen now. To complete the toilet the torba zndtorbak must be mentioned : the first of red wool, with embroidery, worn by both men and women on the back, laced round the shoulders ; the second generally of skin, worn only by the men, and hanging crosswise by a broad band of leather on the left hip."
I have given this detailed description of the costume (quoted from Signor Modrich's " Dalmazia"), thinking it would be of interest; but descriptions of the costumes
12 THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
as they appear to the ordinary traveller will be found in the sections dealing with the various places on the coast.
The Dalmatians are very fond of music and are constantly singing. They have a proverb : " He who sings thinks not of evil." Tomaseo thought their folk- songs richer than those of any other nation, ranging as they do over all manner of subjects. They are generally heroical or amorous in character, divided into short verses and sung in two parts ; the bass delivers a kind of recitative, and the baritone joins in, the long final note with which each finishes dying away in a full chord. It is extraordinary how serious the men are over it, even when singing over their wine, in which they sometimes exceed. At Trau one Sunday afternoon we saw a party of eight or ten sitting round a table in a cafe as serious as if at a funeral, with wine before them, and enjoying their melancholy music. On this occa- sion the alto part was flat, and the effect was not as good as it is out of doors. Later we came across more than one group of four, standing where two streets met, and singing without looking at each other. In the narrow ancient streets the notes sounded quite in character with the surroundings and with the quaint dresses of the singers. Modrich says that they use the svirala, a kind of bagpipe with two canes, one with four and the other with three holes, and suggests that the long- drawn terminating notes of the songs are in imitation of its sound ; but we neither saw nor heard this instrument, all the singing being unaccompanied. The principal occupations of the people are agriculture, cattle-raising, and fishing, or sea-faring. They are exceedingly re- ligious, devoted to church and priest, and observe the great festivals with feasting and rejoicing, and with ceremonies many of which are evidently survivals of heathen observances. The greatest festival is Christ-
CUSTOMS OF THE MORLACCHI 13
mas. In preparation all clothes are washed and mended, house and yard cleaned, and better and richer food than they usually have is provided. On the Eve they work hard ; before sunrise house and yard are decked with bay or olive branches or some other ever- green, which they think protects from lightning. On this day the sun, which the ancient Slavs worshipped, woke from sleep, as one may say, and the days began to lengthen perceptibly.
The father of the sun was Perun, the thunder-god. To this god the oak was dedicated. In the folk-songs he is replaced by S. Elias, and to this day a great log of oak is placed on the fire on Christmas Eve, and kindled for the preparation of the evening meal. It burns all night and the whole of the following day, and in many places is kept smouldering for eight days. The customs observed are as follows. The head of the family bares his head and says : " Blessed be thou, O log ; God preserve thee ! " and sprinkles wine upon it crosswise. Then corn is thrown over it, and he invokes every blessing from heaven for the health of those belonging to the house, present or absent, for the success of do- mestic undertakings, and for the harvest, to which the others present reply " Amen," fire off guns in sign of joy, and say : " Welcome to the evening of the log." Then they sit down to table in the kitchen, even if other rooms are available, which suggests a survival of the practice of eating by the ancient family altar, the hearth. In the centre of the table are three candles twisted together in honour of the Trinity, lighted, and stuck into a great loaf ornamented with ivy. This loaf is afterwards broken up and given to the sheep and cows when bringing forth, or when sick. A little of every kind of food is thrown on to the burning log. If there are three logs (as in some places), the right-hand one must be the biggest — the Father, the Son to the left,
14 THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
and the Spirit in the middle, the aspersion being made in this order. Boccaccio, in the "Genealogy of the Gods," refers to a similar custom in his day in Florence, evi- dently the survival, or transmutation, of some heathen rite. After supper the hymn " Es wurde geboren der Himmels Konig von der unbefleckten Jungfrau Maria " is sung, and then the young people usually play Christ- mas games. Little houses are made of flour or bran, with a piece of money in one, which belongs to the per- son who selects that house. On Christmas Day they visit neighbours and relations, married daughters come with husband and children to the midday meal, bringing two loaves — one of finer quality for the mother, one of the usual kind as big as possible for the father. During the octave groups of young people (and sometimes of men also) go singing carols from house to house, and are rewarded with money and wine in return for wishing the donors a rich wine, olive, and fruit crop. On New Year's Day the three tapers of Christmas Eve are re- lighted. Before drinking at the meal the head of the house uses the following formula : "I wish you a good New Year ; may you enjoy it in health and happiness, neither offend God, nor lose your soul, but have every tender joy and celestial glory.' ' Then he drinks in un- diluted wine three times, and blesses those present in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and pours the remainder of the wine on the candles to extinguish them. If by chance one remains alight it is considered an augury of long life to the person in front of whom it stands. The holy water of the Vigil of the Epiphany, called " water of the Three Kings," and used by the priests to bless every dwelling, is preserved to sprinkle the fields and the sick also, and is thought to be specific against the temptations of the devil at the hour of death. It is said to remain uncorrupted for as long as twenty-five years. Children go about on New Year's
EPIPHANY, LENT AND EASTER 15
Day with a branch of rosemary stuck in an apple in which are kreuzer or ten-kreuzer pieces, wishing good fortune and collecting gifts. In Trieste and some of the Istrian towns, girls andboys go about throughout the octave of Epiphany with little lanterns, kneel on the steps of the houses, sing a song in honour of the three Holy Kings, and then, knocking, ask for money. The song tells how Christ was born poor, lived poor, and died on the Cross, and then goes on to wish friendly donors as many angels to take them to heaven as a sieve has holes ; for the hard-hearted as many devils to take them as nails stuck in the door ! In some neigh- bourhoods children are taken into the vineyards on Innocents' Day, when they strike the vines with switches and sing : " Bear, bear fruit, pretty vine, else will I cut thy head off."
Great preparations are made for Easter, when young lambs and turkeys are slain, which the folk-songs tell us used to be offered to the sun-god. Roasted lamb, cooked eggs, cheese, and bread and salt are carried early to the church to be blessed by the priest. When the bearers return, the table is blessed by the head of the family, and God thanked for the well-completed Lenten fast, after which they sit cheerfully down to their meal, burning all fragments left, since the food has been blessed, and taking care not to let anything fall to the ground. In Lent, and during other fasts, they eat neither flesh nor eggs, nor any kind of milk food. They have a saying that it is less culpable to kill a person in vendetta than to eat rich food in Lent. S. John the Bap- tist's Day is one of their principal feasts. On the Eve the shepherds light fires on all the hills. On the morn- ing they swim for the first time in the year, or wash from head to foot, and also wash all their animals. The girls and boys make garlands of flowers and broom, set them on their heads, and dance " with devotional joy." This
16 THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
is no doubt part of the ancient heathen festival of mid- summer. Another festival which has nothing to do with the Church is the " Fasching " or " Pust,'' on Monday during Carnival. Groups of masked male dancers go through the villages with horns on their heads, or with bells at their girdles weighing several pounds, in one hand a strong stick, in the other a bag of ashes. They dance, jest, fight with other bands, and throw ashes over the women and children who run away. One of them generally carries a clothed figure like a man — the " Pust" — which next day, or on Ash Wednesday, is burnt or buried. This is a relic of the heathen custom of destroying Morana or Mora, the goddess of night, of darkness, winter, and death, who, the country-folk say, sits on men at night and drinks their blood, and of Mrak (twilight), her helper, who brings little children to her by twilight. The priest, who used to be an oracle to his flock, was asked first to every festivity, and consulted in every difficulty. " The priest says so " put an end to all questioning. With their religious feeling, superstition goes hand in hand. They believe in vampires, nightmares, witches, and " Vilen." The vampire is an evil spirit which appears by night to frighten men, in the guise of a lately dead man or woman " who had not lived piously.' ' It is a human skin filled with blood, covered with a shroud, and shows itself at crossways and on bridges, in caves and graveyards, but also rattles window-shutters and throws down tiles from the roof. It is not safe to call to it ; if it reaches out to any one three times that is taken as a sign that it is a good spirit from purgatory asking for help. For protection a thorn-stick is carried, with which the vampire is thrust through. The " Alp " (the nightmare) is an evil old maid who sits on the back or breast of sleepers, holds their hands and feet, and stops their mouth so that they cannot cry for help";
MORLACCO SUPERSTITIONS 17
therefore they never sleep on the back, but on the right side, and keep near the bed an open bottle-gourd, of which the " Alp " or " Mora " is afraid. It generally wears a white dress and black bodice, with a white veil over loose hair. Witches only appear in bad weather, and hold their assemblies under walnut-trees or on cer- tain hills. Excessive hail is supposed to be their work. They can be killed by firing with three grains of corn and the Paschal wax-candle at the lightning before the thunder sounds. If this can be done, the witch dies. " Vilen " are maidens with horses' hoofs. They are found in caves and collect in woods, at the sources of streams or springs. The name comes from the Slav " bijela," the white ; they are not regarded as evil spirits. In the neighbourhood of Spalato they think that new-born children, if strong and handsome, are likely to be taken away by " Vilen," and therefore watch the infants most carefully till they are baptized. These maidens busy themselves with rope-making, spinning, and gold and silver embroidery, and have the power of changing stones and coal to gold and silver. In summer, when hail falls on the vineyards, peasants may still be seen to turn to the black clouds and throw up salt and shredded garlic. It is said that the devil can be seen if one stand at the church door in such weather with a priest, treading with the right foot upon the priest's right. He is like a great dragon spreading his claws and reaching to the upper clouds from the earth ; but the priests never allow the trial, for fear the man should die of fright at the sight. This reminds one of the Chinese and Japanese storm-dragon.
The peasants practise astrology to find lucky times to commence undertakings. Falling stars are con- sidered to be the opening of heaven, and anything asked for at that moment will be granted. Thunders are the rumbling which S. Elias makes with his car. Amulets
18 THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
are worn, especially near the Turkish border. It is considered lucky to spill wine on oneself. To meet a snake, a viper in the house, or a centipede crawling over the walls is also lucky. On the other hand, misfortune attends crackling wood, the birth of black lambs, the entering a house left foot first, sitting at table seven or thirteen in number, giving drink with the left hand, spilling oil or salt, and leaving two rods or knife and spoon crosswise. A crowing hen means domestic mis- fortune— she must be killed to avoid it ; and the baying of a dog or hooting of an owl at night imports the death of a neighbour. Their customs are patriarchal. The father has full authority over his sons, and their wives are merely fresh daughters of the house. Every boy is held to be worth more than the women, from the age of eight, and girls and women who meet a man are ex- pected to salute him. In some places, in the middle of the last century, this salutation was accompanied with a kiss. The oldest man in the house (stareshina) was the only one who could leave anything by will. He said prayers morning and evening, blessed the table, welcomed the guests, sat with them at table, and hur- ried the service of his family. He arranged the work of each member of the household, carried on all com- mercial transactions, and disposed of the results as he pleased. If he found the duties too heavy for him he transferred the responsibility to some other male member. The stopanjica (the mistress) was the direc- tress of the house, and the other women worked under her orders. These people are exceedingly honest, and in some of the villages no locks are to be found either on door or chest.
They have a ceremony by which two persons swear friendship before the altar, and are then called half- brothers or half-sisters. At one time the usage was also practised between persons of different sex. They are
MORLACCO CUSTOMS 19
also tenacious in prosecuting a vendetta, and, till about seventy years ago, there was but one way in which a blood feud could be extinguished. It was called the Karvarina, or price of blood, and its acceptance was preceded by several very curious ceremonies. The re- lations dipped the murdered man's shirt in his blood, and kept it till he was avenged, or the price of blood was arranged. The family of the murderer asked for a truce of several weeks, and sent a solemn embassy of twelve young women with their babies. Arrived at the house, the babies were put down, and the women wept, asking for peace and pity in the name of S. John the Baptist, and the putting away of anger for pity of the little ones. After a time the people of the house picked up the chil- dren and promised to bring to the font twelve of their children yet unborn to be attendants at the marriage of as many girls, and gave the mothers a piece of silver, a veil, and a cloth in sign of peace. Then the relations of the slain chose twenty-four judges, who were en- treated by the other side to serve, and could not refuse, nor might they receive payment. To the preliminaries of the judgment on the appointed day the " dance of blood " succeeded. The criminal, with joined hands, and with the fatal sword at his neck, extricated himself from the slow, melancholy dance, and cried three times : " Pardon ! " The nearest relation ordered the principal judge to drive him ignominiously away. The judge obeyed, and struck him to the earth with his foot, but as soon as his forehead touched the ground he turned and cried again : " In the Name of God, pardon me ! " The dancing stopped, and the dancers burst into tears. The embittered relative of the murdered man went to him, raised him, embraced him, and kissed him on the fore- head, and, turning to the rest, cried out : " This man has been my enemy hitherto, but shall be my friend — my brother — henceforward, to me and to you all also, and
20 THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
to any who were blood-relations of our dear friend who was killed," and then broke a silver coin in two, giving him one half. Then the oldest of the judges read the sentence imposing the price of blood, from 50 to 140 zecchins of gold. Part of the money went to the Church, a third to the expenses of the judgment, and the rest to the family, who generally applied it to some pious use. Marriage customs vary slightly. About Pola and Parenzo the country people make a great display, and go through ceremonies pointing to the capture or pur- chase of the bride. The cortege is headed by a standard- bearer, an unmarried relation, carrying a linen flag of different colours, and on it a wheel-shaped loaf with a great apple on the point of a long pole. The guests knock loudly at the door : after a time a voice asks who they are and what they want. The oldest man answers: "A rose out of the garden," or " A hind out of the thicket." After some debate, first an old woman is brought out, then a younger, then the bridesmaids. They take them all, but want another — " A barefoot girl is still there." At last the bride appears. " That is the right one ; we will take her away," all cry, and the bride-leader asks for her stockings and fine shoes, which generally contain a silver coin. These she herself puts on. The bridegroom gives shoes or some other gift to the mother and all the home people. Then one of the guests fires at an apple on a stick fixed to the roof, or on a tree-top, and it is considered a disgrace to all if he misses. Now the bride comes down, garlanded and with one or two apples in her hand, which she throws at the bridegroom, who tries to cover her with the flag. Whether struck or not, he picks the apples up, to eat with his bride after the ceremony. Then they go off to church. Other customs accompany the journey home. The Morlacchi are very hospitable; if any one approaches one of their houses they ask him in, and
PROVERBS 21
will not let him go without his tasting bread and wine. They are exceedingly loyal and devoted to their native land. They are very fond of proverbs, of which I quote a few : " The empty sack does not stand upright " ; " Penitence does not make the madman well again " ; " If you will not be a thief I will not watch " ; " You can't shut out the sun with the palm of your hand" ; " Be married by your ears and not your eyes " ; " There is most milk in other people's cows " ; " He who cries most loudly works the least " ; " Promises console the foolish" ; " He who has been bitten by a viper fears the lizard" ; "The wolf changes his skin, but not his habits"; " As the mother spins, so the daughter weaves"; " Horses by their pace, maidens by their stock."
They are apowerful and a proud race, as the following story from Fortis shows, and will without doubt leave their mark on European history when their culture equals their physical powers; but the present race- animosity between Croat and Italian is deplorable. The Croats, being in the majority, are using their power to oppress the Italian-speaking portion of the popula- tion. The schools are now all Croat, and the Italians have no means of instruction for their children in their own language except at Zara. At Spalato the race- feeling is especially bitter ; it is the only city in Dal- matia in which the anniversary of the Italian defeat at Lissa is feted with display of flags and music by the municipio. The Italian theatre was burnt down some years ago, and the Croat majority on the council voted a large sum of money (stated to have been £60,000) to build a new Croat theatre to replace it ; and this they refused to let to Italian companies. But there are no Croat companies ready to bear the expense of coming to Spalato, so the theatre remains closed !
The story told by Fortis is as follows : " Venice was
22 THE RACES AND THEIR CUSTOMS
exchanging prisoners-of-war with the Turks, and gave several Turkish soldiers for each Dalmatian. A deputy of the Porte observed that this was scarcely fair, to whom a Morlacco of Sinj replied fiercely : ' Know that our prince willingly gives many asses for a horse/ "
Ill
AQUILEIA
The city of Aquileia, called by the Greeks Chry- sopolis, because it was one of the largest and richest cities of the empire, is now represented by a cluster of houses, a cathedral, and a museum in which the greater part of the objects found by excavating are housed. It is easily reached by carriage from either Villa Vicentina or Cervignano, a pleasant drive of an hour or so ; and it gives one some idea of the size of the ancient city to remember that the whole of the ground passed over, at least from Villa Vicentina, was originally included in its suburbs. The city stretched 16 miles along the shore, but the ground has sunk some five feet, and much of ancient Aquileia now lies beneath the lagoon. The inscriptions show that most of the in- habitants were foreigners. At present the environs are malarious ; but at the time when the naval station was established here the climate must have been much more healthy ; on account, probably, of the great pine- forest which stretched along the shore, and of which there are still some small remains towards the Belve- dere. At that time the Natisone debouched close to the town, and there was ample anchorage for ships. In the eleventh century the great port and arsenal were at Morrano and S. Marco al Belvedere, which were then still islands. The sea-mouth was between Grado and S. Pietro d'Oro, where the pharos was.
23
24 AQUILEIA
The city was founded in 181 B.C., and its name is said to have originated in the appearance of an eagle which was seen while the plan was being laid out. It was the centre from which numerous roads diverged. Here Vespasian was hailed emperor by his legion. In 238 Maximin and his son were killed beneath its walls. Alaric besieged it, and Attila destroyed it in 452. Forty years later Theodoric took the lordship of Italy from Odoacer on the banks of the Isonzo, and in 552 the citizens who had returned were again driven away to the deltas of other rivers by Alboin, who was, it is said, called from Pannonia by Narses to wreak his vengeance on the son of Justinian.
Christianity was planted in Aquileia in apostolic times. According to tradition S. Mark was sent by S. Peter from Rome to the city, and there wrote or trans- lated his gospel into Greek. S. Hermagoras, who was Aquileian by birth, followed him as overseer of the Church. He was consecrated the first bishop of Italy in Rome, the diocese ranking next to the Roman see as being the most ancient after that city. There is no doubt possible as to the existence of- Christianity here at the end of the third century. There were churches in the time of Constantine, and a baptistery as early as 270, in the days of Aurelian. In Constantinian times it was a centre of Catholic life. SS. Jerome and Ambrose lived within its walls, and towards the end of the fourth century the bishops of Como, Venetia, Istria, Noricum, Pannonia, and even Augsburg, as some say, were under Valerian the bishop. Till Carolingian times the patriarchs were Italians, Greeks, or Friulians ; but, with the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, the patriarchs of Aquileia politically were attached to it, and were friends of the emperors, who often stayed in the city on their journeys to and from Italy. All the names are German from the end of the tenth century
CHRISTIAN AQUILEIA 25
to the middle of the thirteenth. The patriarchate was exceedingly prosperous under Poppo (1019-1045), who had been chancellor to Henry II. He moved his seat back to Aquileia from Cividale, built a fine palace (of which the two isolated pillars and the ruined walls to the south of the cathedral remain) and the existing cathedral, using portions of an earlier one as material.
As at Parenzo, excavations have revealed the plan of earlier buildings upon and around the site of the cathedral. This was the Capitol of the ancient city, and probably a street ran between the baptistery and the cathedral. To the north lay the forum and the cattle- market, as inscriptions prove. The discovery of drains proves that there were dwelling-houses as well as temples near ; but the wall of the original city was just east of the cathedral, and beyond it a branch of the Natisone flowed, affording additional protection. The river was canalised and navigable for seven miles. The piers of a bridge still remain near Monastero.
A large antique building of some kind, perhaps a prison or courts-of-law, connected with the martyrdom of SS. Hermagoras and Fortunatus, was used in the con- struction of the first cathedral, and portions of imperial work are to be seen in the lower parts of the eastern wall and the paving of the crypt. The baptistery, which rises to the west, also is on the base of a heathen temple. In the year 348 a new church was so far ready that a great meeting could be held in it, at which the emperors brother was present, Athanasius tells us. It was finished in 381, when a council was held in it. The destruction wrought by Attila appears to have been complete, for no inscriptions have been found of his date, nor any Lombard objects, and at the time of the Lombard invasion the patriarch fled to Grado with all the church valuables, and moved his seat thither.
26 AQUILEIA
The foundations show that there were two basilicas side by side, with a narthex common to both and a passage between them up to the transept. To the south the narthex terminated in an apse nearly 20 ft. across, and there was a hall, probably open to the sky, between the narthex and the baptistery, with others to the north and south of it. The basilica to the north of the present cathedral extended under the campanile and the graveyard, and mosaics of its floor have been found on two levels, sunken in part by the weight of the campanile. The lower mosaic has been found over a space of more than 120 ft., but the excavations could not be made complete owing to the ground being used as a cemetery. One pattern is purely geometrical; another has birds, dogs, hares, baskets of flowers, and floral scrolls in octagons and squares set diagonally between them ; both marble and vitreous pastes are used, as well as gold tesserae. Inscriptions were also found in letters of the third or beginning of the fourth century : " ***ore Felix hie crevisti hie Felix " and " Cyriacus vivas." The former is held to prove that there was a domestic basilica here at that period. The bottom of the wall was painted with geometrical patterns imitating marble plating. The mosaic runs right under the campanile. There is a door to the south, and two pillars parallel to the face of the wall, and one to the left, opposite the north angle. The upper building has a double row of bases of columns, nine or ten in number, with an external wall 19 ft. 6 in. from the present basilica, and with the western wall of the narthex level with the present narthex, beneath the piazza. Antique fragments were used in the founda- tions. The lower part of the wall of the existing building is of the same materials and thickness, and probably of the same date. The much simpler mosaic patterns of the floor are at the same level both inside
REMAINS OF EARLIER BUILDINGS 27
and outside — viz. 2 ft. 9 in. below the present pavement. Near the round building in the north aisle a fish mosaic was found on which the sarcophagus of Poppo stood. Signs of a conflagration — fragments of charcoal, &c. — were also found on this pavement. The colours used in the mosaics are white, blue, grey, palish green-grey, yellow, brown, black, several blues and reds, and two greens. The finest fragment has a figure of a peacock with tail displayed, which was in the narthex in front of the door to the church, and is now in the museum. On the pavement coins were found, most of which be- longed to the third and fourth centuries ; but there were also one Greek coin of Marcianopolis, two so-called Consular coins, one Augustan, three of the second century, one Ostrogothic of Ravenna, and several Aquileian of 1400. In the eighteenth century sar- cophagi were disinterred bearing fourth-century crosses, of an earlier date than Attila, at all events.
There appears to have been a restoration in the sixth century, probably under Narses ; the use of super-abaci and the caps in the transept suggest this. Perhaps the council of 557 may have had something to do with it. Twin basilicas occur elsewhere in Istria, though they were not always of the same date, as at Trieste, S. Michele in Monte, Pola, and probably at Ossero, where the seven-naved basilica of which Mr. T. G. Jackson gives the plan would be easily explained by the supposition.
The original east end was square. The semicir- cular apse within it is of a later date, probably of the ninth century, of which period there are other remains — viz. the beautiful slabs of the choir now in the south transept, with the remains of the bases of the pillars of the screen above. Two of the patterns are exactly like some at Muggia Vecchia ; others resemble ornamented pillars of the door of S. Ambrogio, Milan ; others are
)». * » Gr
PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL, AQUILEIA
THE PRESENT CATHEDRAL 29
very like the fragments preserved at S. Maria in Valle, Cividale ; whilst a band of interlacings resembles one which occurs on an Assyrian cylinder, not only in its forms, but in its irregularities. A piece of antique fluted pilaster now does duty as a base. The ornament on the steps of the throne is also of this period, probably executed under either Paulinus (f8o2) or Maxentius (1*833) by Comacines, who probably went on to Rome to work in S. Maria in Cosmedin. The Liber Ponti- ficalis under Hadrian I. mentions the " tres apsides in ea constituens " of that church as if they were some- thing new.
The cathedral was much damaged by the earth- quake of 998, and Poppo began to rebuild it after the Lateran Council of 1027 nad declared the see of Aquileia first in Italy after Rome. It was sufficiently finished in 103 1 for it to be consecrated by him on the festival of the patron saint (July 13), two Roman cardinal-bishops and twelve bishops being present, as a later inscription states. Of this building the greater part remains, though with considerable alterations and additions made in the fourteenth century, after the earthquake of 1348, and in the fifteenth century. The twenty columns of the nave arcade, some of which are granite and some Istrian limestone, show by their different heights and thickness that they came from other buildings. Some of them are in more than one piece. The bases are Attic of different heights and are of Poppo' s time, as the caps appear to be also. Two similar caps are in the churchyard ; and one, hollowed out, is used as a holy- water basin. Some of the same character were found at Monastero under another basilica. The central nave is 39 ft. broad, and the aisles 26 ft. The transept is about 136 ft. long, with an apse 32 ft. 6 in. broad opening from it, 21 ft. deep. The exterior length of the building is 218 ft. The round arches from the aisles
30 AQUILEIA
to the transepts are older than the nave arcade. The columns are antique ; that on the south has also a Corinthian cap, but the base is Romanesque. The base of the northern column is a shapeless block ; the cap is like those of the nave, but the super-abacus is plain. Across the transepts two round arches are thrown in a line with the aisle walls, resting on very thin columns of cipollino ; that on the south is of several pieces not belonging to each other. The caps vary in design. North and south of these arches are the chapels, with their apses. The arch of the apse is round, with two antique granite columns ; it had three small round windows in it. The bishop's throne is from the earlier church. Beneath the late-Gothic seats round the apse are the seats of Poppo's time, with remains of inscriptions : the pavement of marble slabs and mosaic patterns is also due to him.
In 1896 frescoes of the eleventh century were discovered beneath the rococo plaster-work in the semi-dome. In the centre is the Madonna and Child enthroned in a vesica above six saints, and surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists. ■ The saints to the spectator's right are SS. Hermagoras, Fortunatus, and Euphemia ; to the left are SS. Mark, Hilarus, and Titianus. Among them are persons on a smaller scale — Poppo holding his church, the emperor (Conrad II.) and the empress, an unnamed person, and a boy " Einricus " (afterwards Henry III.) ; a border of medal- lions, with heads and peacocks alternately, surrounds the field. Below, between the three windows, are six more saints, three on each side. Two different hands can be traced. In the crypt are also paintings of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the difference in technique being marked. On the vaults are the legends of SS. Hermagoras and Fortunatus ; in the lunettes the life of the Virgin, angels, Apostles, and saints, and on the
THE CRYPT 31
soffits of the arches ; and painted hangings in outline with figure-subjects upon them, on the lower part of the wall. There is one subject from the life of S. Mark. Two kinds of intonaco are used, one hard and white, the other grey and sandier. There are two rows of pillars in the crypt, six in the wall round the apse, and two (Renaissance) at the sides of the westward niche, which looks like a western apse with altar in front of it. The roof is a wagon vault pierced with cross- vaults, but not truly quadripartite, and the caps a curious combina- tion of badly cut foliage and scrolls and round-arched arcading. Iron grilles of 1500 isolate the space within the columns where the sarcophagus stands. There were doorways to the triangular spaces left between the apse and the rectangular external form, which were walled up at a later date. The stairs to the crypt go through the side wings of the Renaissance tribune above with a crookedly set room on each side, with little windows in the walls, one of which is blocked by the marble sheeting, while those towards the crypt are also walled up, showing that the structure is early, and is probably Poppo's. The doors are of iron, with lions' heads on the south side and man-headed animals on the other.
The Patriarch Raimondo della Torre (who died in 1299) built the chapel of SS. Ambrogio and Margherita, which was used as the sepulchral chapel of the family. It opens to the nave, with two pointed arches with an oculus above. In the middle of the side wall, between two sarcophagi of white marble, is that of Allegranza di Rho, second wife of Moschino della Torre and mother of the Patriarch Gastone. She died July 23, 1300, and her sarcophagus is the only one of the five in the chapel inscribed. On the front are reliefs, and on the sloping cover her effigy. One of those at her side has a figure of a person in subdeacon's dress, with a key, no doubt
32 AQUILEIA
Rainaldo della Torre, treasurer to the church and brother of Gastone. His will of March 31, 1332, gives a precise description of the monument he wished to have erected to him. There was to be an archivolt over it, but if it was erected it must have fallen in the earthquake of 1348, as there are no traces of it. One of red marble, with a patriarch fully robed, with pallium and mitre, standing on a dragon between a processional cross and a crozier, with censing angels on each side of the head, is that of either Raimondo or Pagano. It also bears a relief of the Annunciation. On the front of another are three circular plaques with the Agnus Dei in the centre and crosses in the others ; in the spaces between are flatly treated towers, the arms of the family. In the north transept a sarcophagus front, or altar, stands against the wall supported on pillars. It has five ogee trefoil niches with saints within them, and a framing of late Gothic foliage, with half-lengths of angels in the spandrils. The central saint is accom- panied by two small kneeling donors ; the other four are the Aquileian virgins. In the south transept is a sarcophagus on four Romanesque columns with twisted pillars at the corners, and the sides of the central subject (S. Hermagoras, with the four virgins small, on their knees, and the hand of God above). The spaces be- tween are inlaid with red marble. The caps appear to be of the fourteenth century, the period of the foliage cornice.
As a consequence of the earthquake of January 25, 1348, a good part of the church fell down on October 19. Constant wars prevented the patriarch from having money to spend on its restoration. A document of 1354 reveals a lamentable state of things — the popula- tion was but 100 — worshippers did not come, and the clergy had fled to save themselves from sickness and death ; no one came to the services of Holy Week be-
LATER RESTORATIONS AND ADDITIONS 33
cause the roads were under water, &c. ; with a final request that Udine might be named as the seat of the patriarchate. The rebuilding was commenced under Lodovico della Torre (1360) and finished under Mar- quard da Randeck (1365-1380), the architect being unknown. At this time the nave arcade was made pointed, and some of the super-abaci carved with Gothic foliage. After Venice had expropriated the patriarch (in 1420) money was spent upon the cathedral. In 1479 tne choir seats were renewed. In 1493, under Nicolo Donato, the winter choir was renewed. In 1495 the high-altar was erected, upon which Antonio di Osteno, Bernardino di Bissone, and Domenico di Udine were employed. Work was also done in the crypt, in connection with the better preservation of the relics of some saints. In 1498 the tribune appears to have been made, under Domenico Grimani. This is a very decorative arrangement, with a central feature, flanked by two flights of steps, and side platforms furnished with a balustrade, which project some way into the transepts, and are carved elaborately with graceful ara- besques. In the centre below is a niche with shell-head and grated window, through which the inside of the crypt is visible. To the right is a ciborium altar, with a relief of Christ in the tomb half-length, supported by the Virgin and S. John, flanked by two scroll-bearing angels. An inscription describes it as an oratory, where relics of the saints are venerated. The pillars bear an architrave — a shell-head beneath, an arch above, and a gable termination of early Renaissance shape — above a shallow cornice. The effect is heavy. The left side was used as a singing-gallery. In the apse hangs a picture by Pellegrino di S. Daniele (which was put up in 1503), a good deal repainted — a Risen Christ with SS. Peter and Hermagoras. The fine frame was carved by Giovanni Pietro di Udine in 1500, and gilded
5
34 AQUILEIA
two years later by Antonio de' Tironi of Bergamo. Before 1484 the floor was of beaten earth ; at that time a pavement of red Veronese marble was commenced, completed in 1544. The aisles are at a slightly higher level than the nave. The Gothic roof was remade on the pattern of those of SS. Zeno and Fermo, Verona, in 1526 (signed Giuliano q* Vivente of Udine), and restored in 1560. It is now painted in chequers. Beams resting on corbels beneath the windows cross the nave, while the aisles have a flat panelled roof, with bosses at the intersections of the framing.
The font is supported by four small pillars sur- rounding a larger central one. In the north aisle is a circular building with a conical wooden roof supported upon a little colonnade — work of the fifteenth century in its present form. There was, however, a " sepolcro " — a copy of the Holy Sepulchre — here, with a flat cupola, mentioned in 1077, and described as being near the grave of Patriarch Sigeard, and in 1085 an altar was consecrated within it by Patriarch Frederick II. The ceremony of carrying the Host thither on Good Friday and locking and sealing the door, from which it was brought out on Easter Day, lasted till the suppression of the patriarchate in 175 1.
At that time the treasure and archives were divided between the bishoprics of Gorz and Udine. The precious objects were stolen from Udine, and have dis- appeared, but at Gorz there still remain several. There is a bishop's crozier of the end of the twelfth century, Romanesque in style, decorated with seven pieces of rock-crystal arranged diagonally, and with a knop of the same, set at a later date. The crook is set with precious stones, rubies, turquoises, aquamarine, and lapis lazuli. Within is the Lamb holding a cross ; under it the whorl finishes with a dragon. A much older bishop's staff is of worm-eaten wood — set in
w
<
OBJECTS FROM THE TREASURY 35
metal at a later date to preserve it from destruc- tion— said to have been given to S. Hermagoras by S. Peter or S. Mark. There is also a great crucifix of gilded silver on a wood basis worked with a rough naturalism free from Byzantine influence. The cross is made into a tree, from which grapes hang ; the nimbus is set with large amethysts and small rubies. Of the same period is a fine book-cover of gilded silver with the subject of the Ascension. Christ enthroned in a vesica is supported by two angels ; below is the Madonna as orante, surrounded by the Apostles. The border consists of fine leaf-scrolls, late twelfth century in character. A silver statuette of the Madonna and Child is of the fourteenth century. The Child is nude, tall, and thin, and wears a crown decorated with pearls and trefoils. The naked portions are matt silver, the draperies are gilded. It stands on a pedestal of three ornamented steps. The fate of the precious objects is reversed in the case of the documents. Those sent to Gorz have disappeared, whilst Udine still preserves a considerable number. At Aquileia the only object re- maining from the treasury is a statue of the Madonna and Child, of Istrian marble, heavily painted. The work resembles in style the carving at S. Giovanni in Fonte, Verona.
The campanile must have been built by Poppo, al- though the base looks like Roman masonry, since the mosaics go right under it, but it was added to later, and the octagonal bell-chamber is inscribed: "md1 xlviii tadevs • lvranvs * hoc ' o ■ fecit/ ' It is 39 ft. square and the walls are over 7 ft. thick. The entrance is approached by 27 steps. It is 70 ft. to the floor of the bell-chamber.
The narthex has three thick antique pillars, part granite and part marble, with heavy early Christian Corinthian caps and super-abaci with crosses upon
36 AQUILEIA
them. The baptistery lies to the west of the narthex, united to it by a building known as the Chiesa dei Pagani. This consists of three bays with a descent of three steps from the first, over which there was once a cupola. The other bays are cross-vaulted, and there are several round-headed windows. In the pavement is a curious pierced stone. It has a cross with the Agnus Dei in the centre (pierced), and four little window shapes in the angles with round-headed tympana and oblong piercings below. There was a second story; part of the wall of this remains, constructed of ancient tiles, which were much used in Aquileia in the Middle Ages ; an inscription records a restoration in 1738. The baptistery was originally a Roman building, square ex- ternally and octagonal within, with four niches, one of which is partially preserved. Remains of the others have been found outside the octagon. There was an hexagonal font in the centre, and in the angles of the walls are the springings of vaults ; there are also six pillar-stumps of different thicknesses. Most of the present building is modern, the result of several restora- tions. On each side of the baptistery and Chiesa dei Pagani were halls with mosaic floors of the Christian period, of which that to the south was least damaged when discovered; it had three patterned fields, with borders. The open hall between was stone-paved — a bit of the paving was found a foot deeper than the original floor of the baptistery.
The museum contains a quantity of exceedingly interesting objects, the fruit of excavations, which the director, Signor Maionica, most kindly piloted me through, calling attention to the various objects of special interest and giving me details about them of which otherwise I should have been ignorant. The collection of objects in amber, many of them stained a fine red, is the finest in existence, though the most
STATUE OF VENUS, MUSEUM, AQUILEIA
To face page 36
OBJECTS IN THE MUSEUM
37
splendid examples have gone to the British Museum, to Udine and Gorz. The sculptured objects include a very beautiful youthful Venus, a girl apparently of about 17, a draped statue of the Emperor Claudius in Greek cos- tume, one of Tiberius as Pon- tifex Maxim us (both found near thetheatre),oneof Livia, showing the arrangement of the back hair, and marble wigs to place upon the heads of statues to keep them in the fashion. There is also a draped Venus with a Cupid hiding beneath her robe, a copy of the Aura (Spring- rain) of Scopas, of which another is in the museum at Trieste, and a most interest- ing sculptor's model for use in the studio, showing how arms and legs of other pieces of marble were affixed to statues. A pedestal shows the life of Priapus, from his birth in the spring to his winter's inactivity ; others have winged Cupids bearing /? torches and bestriding dol-^-- phins, the idea being of a
Zm ~ 4- 4.U T 1 J £ il, ANTIQUE STATUE IN THE MUSEUM,
voyage to the Islands of the aquileia
Blest. A panel shows Bac- chanalian Cupids ; one desires to drink, one is drinking from a crater, another, supported away, inebriated ; the robed master of the feast bears a sceptre and is playing the Pan-pipes. Another relief represents a banquet in a triclinium. One man sounds a double pipe, another
38 AQUILEIA
carries food to the guests, one of whom is singing an obscene song, which disgusts the women, who make the sign of displeasure at him. In a relief of the time of Heliogabalus a meteoric stone is seen carried in pro- cession, preceded by duumvirs, lictors, &c. — an evidence of an Oriental cult practised in Aquileia. Five great medallions from the same building show busts in very high relief of Jupiter, Mercury, Vulcan, Venus, and Minerva. A stone table with a sundial and windrose engraved upon it has a low seat on three sides, but the fourth free, so that the hour may be seen at all times of the day without the annoyance of dodging one's shadow. The letters of the inscription point to the second century a.d. as the date of its production. Many sarcophagi come from the north-east of Aquileia near Columbara, where a monument was found much resembling those of Petra and Baalbek in its forms. Inscriptions name clothiers, fullers, joiners, linen-weavers, builders and servants, purple-dyers, pikesmiths, a silver-worker, an Oriental pearl merchant with a sign of the city of Rome, &c. In the eighteenth century the Mint was discovered, with bars of silver and baskets of coin. A fine plate of beaten silver, with the story of Triptolemus, found here is now at Vienna.
Many pieces of ornament are preserved, often very finely modelled and also with traces of colour. The larger pieces, many of which are coarse in workmanship, are housed under a long shed in the open ; among them are slabs of ninth-century ornament, lead coffins, and pipes with pointed covers to keep the sand out, urns for ashes, &c. There appears to have been a Roman rococo at Aquileia, earlier than at Spalato or Florence. Here, too, are some of the early Christian mosaics found during the excavations in and around the cathedral. Especi- ally beautiful are the fragments with peacocks and other birds, and lambs, with freely growing scrolls of vine.
A CURIOUS MEDIEVAL CEREMONY 39
An asbestos net, found at Monastero, used to wrap round the body during cremation and so keep the bones together, is interesting, as are lachrymatories mis- shapen by the flames, small bottles of rock-crystal beautifully cut, a few enamelled objects and carvings in ivory, principally children's toys. Rings set with gems were made of gold for the nobles and of iron for the citizens, who at a later period used silver and even gold. Over 40,000 coins have been found in the course of the excavations, andlamps bearing no less than 800 different makers' marks. The marks are the same as those found all through Istria, Dalmatia, and the islands, proving a large export trade. The most important were those of C. Vibio Pansa, whose stamp (or those of his successors) is found in conjunction with imperial names till the time of Constantine. In the delta of the Isonzo, near Monfalcone, a portion was called " Insula Pansiana " even in the Middle Ages. A river in the bay of Mon- falcone is still called Panzano, and near there is a place of the same name. There were also glass works at S. Stefano, Aquileia, where fragments of coloured glass have been found.
Ruskin refers to a curious ceremony, instituted in the twelfth century, which was observed in Venice till 1549 " m memorial of the submission of Woldaric, patriarch of Aquileia, who, having taken up arms against the patriarch of Grado, and being defeated and taken prisoner by the Venetians, was sentenced, not to death, but to send every year on ' Giovedi Grasso ' sixty-two large loaves, twelve fat pigs, and a bull, to the Doge ; the bull being understood to represent the patriarch and the twelve pigs his clergy ; and the ceremonies of the day consisting in the decapitation of these representatives, and a distribution of their joints among the senators ; together with a sym- bolic record of the attack on Aquileia, by the
40 AQUILEIA
erection of a wooden castle in the rooms of the Ducal Palace, which the Doge and the Senate attacked and demolished with clubs.' ' Mutinelli quotes the decree.
The patriarchate reached the zenith of its power under Volfkerus of Cologne, known to the Italians as Volchero. He was elected in 1204, and ruled till 1218. His dioceses included seventeen bishoprics of Venice on terra firma, stretching as far as Como and Trent, and six in Istria. The Venetian island bishoprics, by the con- vention of 1 180, were under the Patriarch of Grado. In 1208 his dominions were so much increased that they almost exceeded those of the Pope in extent. He held the duchies of Carniola and Friuli, as well as the marquisate of Istria. He struck his own coins, of which there are two types, one closely resembling those of Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne, and governed constitutionally with the assistance of a parliament of three estates.
IV
GRADO
From Aquileia a steam-launch plies back and forth to Grado, a distance of some six or seven miles, at first along a canal with grassy banks plentifully besprinkled with giant snowdrops in the spring, then through wide stretches of lagoon along a channel, marked by piles, sometimes approaching the fisher- men's huts, which occupy the summit of slight elevations rising but little above the surface of the water. These huts are mere shelters of reeds, and, one would think, quite unfit for human habitation, but close by them the nets may be seen drying, and perhaps food in course of preparation over an open fire, while the boat, thrust into a creek or tied to a stake, occupies the foreground. These wide-spreading lagoons, the resort of many kinds of water-fowl in their passage from north to south and vice versa, are very pictorial. The enclosures in which fish brought in by the tide are retained, the beds of reeds and rushes with yellow water-lilies, the figures of women and children wading and seeking fishy treasures, provide excellent material for the artist. Occasionally a boat passes in which a woman is taking fish to Aquileia, leaving behind it a long trail of ripples. The two great campanili, of Grado which we are nearing, and of Aquileia passing into the distance behind us, each with its cluster of low buildings around, are prominent against the horizon showing dark against the fine
41 6
42 GRADO
cumulus clouds, which are heaped in sharply denned masses against the blue of the upper sky and rise in threatening billows like exhalations from some vast cauldron, soon to fade away innocuously in the late afternoon.
Grado is on one of the islands of which a chain stretches from the mouth of the Isonzo to that of the Brenta right across the northern border of the Adriatic. Its port was one of the harbours of Aquileia, at first for purposes of war, but later for those of commerce. The town was square in plan, walled, and full of people. Cassiodorus speaks of its material conditions. The modern town is most picturesque, with narrow streets andnumerous courtyards, with outside staircases, quaint shops, and fascinating plays of light and shade, and so much of the life of the people passes in the open air that there is always interesting matter for observation. It is a seaside resort, visited a good deal for bathing during the summer months, and there is also, as at Rovigno, an establishment for scrofulous children. But its chief attraction for us is archaeological, for it contains early Christian antiquities of considerable importance.
Its greatest prosperity was between the time of the great wanderings of the peoples and the descent of the barbarians into Italy. Its patriarch took the lead in establishing the government of the islands from which the Venetian Republic sprang. In 460 Nicetas called all the bishops, clergy, and leading officials of the islands together to deliberate on the question of government, and, after discussion, they agreed to establish one under the directorship of Tribunes. The first tribune was to live at Grado, with three others, called "maggiori," but depending upon him, one for Rivoalto, one for Cande- ana, and one for Dorsea, living at Rialto, Eraclea, and Torcello respectively. They had charge of the admin- istration of justice, presided over the execution of the
A CORNER IN GRADO
To face page 42
HISTORY OF GRADO 43
laws, enforced discipline, and met at times in council to discuss propositions laid before them. Grado lost its supremacy in 696, when the assembly held at Eraclea gave it to that city, though the Patriarch of Grado, Cristoforo, was given equality with the three tribunes which Eraclea then had. The next year the first doge, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was elected. It was by means of Fortunatus of Trieste, Patriarch of Grado (803-825), that the cry of the Istrians, oppressed by the Frankish duke and his supporters, came to the ears of Charle- magne, with the result that after a strict inquiry held at Risano in 804, when the representatives of the cities and castella exposed the odious proceedings of the bishop, the duke, and their adherents, they obtained redress. In 875 the Saracens attacked Grado, but were repulsed. The next year a similar attack was made by the Slavs of Croatia and Dalmatia, but the Doge Orso met them, defeated them, and gave back to several Istrian towns objects of which they had been robbed.
Between Grado and Aquileia there was a constant struggle for supremacy, which was in reality a contest between Venice and the empire, Aquileia standing for the latter and Grado for the former. A formal peace was concluded between them during theLateran Council of 1 180, by which the Patriarch of Grado renounced all claims over the Istrian bishoprics, except as regards the hundred amphoras of wine sent by Capodistria from 1075, given as a personal honour to the Doge Pietro Candiano, and by him handed over to the Patriarch of Grado. In 452 the Patriarch of Aquileia fled to Grado from the Huns, returning after they had passed, and in 578, when Aquileia had become Lombard, Paulinus transferred his seat to Grado, thus putting himself under Byzantine protection. In 579 a synod was held in the church. From 607 there were two patriarchs — one in Grado and one in Aquileia — established for political
44 GRADO
reasons by the Lombards ; they were schismatical, that is to say, adherents of the " three chapters." During the continuance of this schism, in 610, three Istrian bishops were taken from their very churches by the military, and carried off to Grado, where they were compelled to bend to the Imperial will in the matter. Gregory III. sanctioned the division of the two patri- archates in 731, both having become orthodox, Aquileia in 698 and Grado in 715. In 145 1 the patriarchate of Grado was transferred to Venice, where the patriarch had been living for a long time.
The foundations of the cathedral were laid under Nicetas (456) by the architect Paulus, who was sent to him by Pope Leo I. The plan is Romanesque, a basilica with nave and aisles and no transept, the nave terminating in an apse eastward. It has two western doors, which open into a portico of almost the whole breadth of the church, part being cut off by the campanile, which is nearly 20 ft. square and over 160 ft. high. The clerestory and low-pitched wooden roof of the nave are supported by two piers and ten columns on each side. The columns are antique, but of varied material — cipollino, white and black and white- veined marble, and granite ; and there is one of a rosy and white breccia. The caps vary both in de- sign and size, and have been repaired with stucco. Some of them are decadent Roman and the rest Byzantine : the bases are hidden by a square wooden boxing. The eleven arches of the nave arcade are round. The round-headed windows of both nave and aisles had pierced slabs of stone in them, but in 1740 the openings were made lunette-shaped. One pierced slab of the ninth century has been found, and is now placed high up in the apse above the patriarch's throne. Under Fortunatus and John the Younger, about the beginning of the ninth century, the church appears to
PULPIT IN THE CATHEDRAL, GRADO
To face page 45
INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL 45
have been beautified ; and again, in the second half of the tenth, under Vitalis. It is related that the relics were then provided with fresh receptacles and inscrip- tions. The choir occupies three bays of the nave, with a modern enclosure raised by several steps. Just out- side the rail, by the fourth column on the left, stands the interesting pulpit, which has a later canopy, but itself appears to be of the ninth century, judging by the columns, two of which are twisted, and by the carving of the symbols of the Evangelists, which seems to be rather later. On the other hand, there is a square O in the inscription on S. John's book, of which other instances occur at Cattaro in an inscription of the ninth century, and in one of the seventh at Spalato. The pulpit is sexfoil in plan ; one side is open, and one has a large cross carved upon it. The g canopy has six fourteenth or fifteenth-century octagonal colonnettes, supporting ogee trefoiled arches with a domical ter- mination, coloured in red and white chequers, and with scrolls and rosettes of red on the spandrils of the arches below. The shape and decoration show Arab in- fluence strongly.
In the pavement is still preserved a great deal of that laid down by Elias in the sixth century. It filled the nave, being entirely worked in tesserae of very few colours — black, a green-grey, red, yellow, and white. From the west door a pattern, surrounded by a border, stretches as far as the fifth pair of columns. It consists of a central band of a wavy pattern, interrupted by inscriptions and medallions ; the easternmost one is blank and has a running border, with the corners of the square (cut off by the band of inscriptions) filled with scroll-work. The side portions are cut up into squares by bands of open interlacings, with ivy leaves in the interstices, and different designs within the squares, or with inscriptions, most of them in Latin, but one in
46 GRADO
Greek. They record the gift of so many feet of pave- ment, as at Parenzo ; and one donor, Laurentius the Viscount Palatine, seems to have been generous to both cathedrals. A long inscription leaves no doubt as to the date, and that it was laid down under the Patriarch Elias (571-585) ; it runs : " Atria quae cernis vario formata decore squallida sub picto caelatur marmore tellus longa vetustatis senio fuscaverat aetas prisca en cesserunt magno novitatis honori praesulis Haeliae studio praestante beati haec sunt tecta pio semper devota timori.,,
The flat ceilings and the rococo stucco-work are due to the restorations of 1740. The apse contains remains of mediaeval painting — a seated Christ of colossal size surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists, with raised right hand and a closed book in the left ; on one side S. John the Baptist holding an open scroll, and on the other a saint in green, with gold-shot stole and nimbus, but no attribute — both larger than life. The corners are occupied by the patron saints, Hermagoras and Fortunatus. Round the apse, just above the patri- arch's seat, runs a row of portraits of bishops of later date, half-lengths, beneath a round-arched arcade on a gold ground. On the left nave pier, near the door, are the remains of a painting of S. Helena, who has nimbus, cross, and book. In the centre of the apse is the ancient patriarch's seat, with an inscription upon the wall commemorating the ancient supremacy of the see : it is mainly composed of mutilated ninth-century carved slabs, probably portions of the chancel of that date. Other slabs with similar designs and portions of a ciborium are preserved in a little collection of marbles under a shed behind the apse, where are also several sarcophagi and other antique fragments.
In the treasury are two early reliquaries of silver, found beneath the high-altar in August, 1871. One is
THE PATRIARCH'S THRONE, CATHEDRAL, GRADO
To face page 46
EARLY RELIQUARIES 47
cylindrical, with a convex lid, upon which is represented in relief the Virgin enthroned, with the Babe at her breast. Her right hand holds a cross-headed sceptre, and behind her head is a nimbus with the usual mono- gram, MH ®T. The cylinder has no decoration but two bands of names of saints in Roman capital letters. These are : " Sane. Maria, Sane. Vitvs, Scs. Cassianvs, Sane. Pancrativs, Sane. Ypolitvs, Sane. Apollinaris, Sane. Martinvs." Within is a central cylinder and six compartments radiating from it, which contained a small cylindrical vase of gold with rings round it, a little glass flask, closed up and containing water, a little gold box with crosses and a leaf pattern on the outside, and a cross of dark-green enamel on the cover, a small slab of chalk or cement with a Greek cross imprinted on it, and several thin gold plates with the names of saints upon them. Several of the printed accounts of the discovery of this treasure say that there were six of these plates in the casket ; but the glass case which encloses it and its contents has eleven, with the names as follows : " Domna Maria, Scs. Cassianvs, Sc. Mar- tinvs, Sc. Brancativs, Scs. Troteomvs, Sea. Agnes, Scs. Bitvs, Scs. Apolinnaris, Scs. Hyppolitvs, Scs. Sabas- tianvs, Scs. Severvs." Dr. Kandler thought that it came from the church of S. Niceta in Aquileia, and was brought to the island with other treasures in 452, for safety, from Attila. De Rossi thought that the appel- lative " Domna " distinguishing the Virgin was an argument against such high antiquity ; but in a later number of his " Bullettino " he described an inscription of about 457 at Loja, in Spain, in which the title " Dom- nus " or " Domna " is applied to all the saints, including the Virgin. There is a legend that " When Paul was patriarch of Aquileia the priest Geminianus was told in a vision to go to the destroyed city of Trieste to find the bodies of 42 martyrs buried between the wall of
48 GRADO
the church dedicated to them and the city wall. Going thither with many other Venetians he found the holy bodies in the specified place, covered over with marble slabs, and, taking them, went to the destroyed city of Aquileia, where he added to the relics the bodies of Cantius, Cantianus, Cantianilla, and the virgins Euphemia, Dorothea, Thecla, and Erasma, and then took them all to Grado." Paul is Paulinus I. (557-569), and the occurrence took place after the Lombards had gone by in 568. The forty-two martyrs were laid side by side in the church of S. Vitale, and Paul died the next year.
The other reliquary is elliptical, and has upon its sides reliefs and inscriptions bordered with a rough leaf-moulding. Round the middle are eight me- dallions with male and female heads, divided into two groups of five and three by palm-trees. Above and below is a row of names ; those of the top row being : " >%< Sanctvs Cantivs, Sane. Cantianvs, Sancta Can- tianilla, Santvs Qvirinvs, Santvs Latinv." The lower row runs : " ^ S. Lavrentivs, vs. Ioannes, vs Niceforvs Santisreddedidbotvm " (vir spectabilis, &c, reddidit votum). The use of b for v is characteristic of the period of the Patriarch Elias. The cover is slightly domical ; upon it are two lambs, and between them a gemmed cross. They stand on a hill from which the four rivers of Paradise flow. Within was a second silver casket filled with water, and some remains of relics. At Pola some reliquaries of somewhat the same kind were found, of which a description will be given later.
In the Museo Sacro of the Vatican library is a similar capsella found at Am Beida in Tunisia. It is oval, and has the same bands of ornament ; round the body are reliefs. On one side is a lamb with a cross above his back, and on either side four sheep (with
OBJECTS IN THE TREASURY 49
tufted tails, a Tunisian variety) coming towards him from an arched and pillared building. On the other is the Labarum monogram with ornamental terminations on a hill from which the four Paradise streams flow ; a stag on either side kneels to drink. On the cover stands a saint, on the four Paradise streams, between two lighted tapers in candlesticks, holding a crown ; whilst the hand of God holds another over his head. There are no nimbi. The reliquary was empty and without any compartments. De Rossi pronounced it to be of the sixth century, or the end of the fifth.
The treasury also contains an oblong fourteenth- century casket and two Limoges gemellions, as well as a good deal of late silver work, and an interesting altar frontal. The gemellions are champleve on copper,, with engraved backs showing traces of gilding. A central circle on the face contains a shield with a ram- pant lion, enamelled in blue ; round it is a quatrefoil made by four larger circles which overlap at the re- entering angle. The spandril spaces are filled with dragon-like monsters on a green ground. The ring and the shield show metal. The quatrefoil is outlined with white, and filled with scrolls and figures righting with each other or with beasts. The corner pieces have a little tower and scrolls, the windows and cornice are red enamel, the ground is green. The outside edge has a zigzag of blue enamel. The hole through which the water was poured over the hands has a spout representing an animal's head. I believe these basins, to be the only examples of Limoges work to be found along the coast.
The altar-frontal is inscribed : " ^ MCCCLXII de Settembrio in lo tempo del nobele Miser Andrea Contarini Doxe di Vanesia e Miser Francesco Contarini Conte de' Grado fo f atta questa palla e Donado Maca- lorso da Vinesia me fece." It is of silver-gilt, 4 ft. 7 in...
7
50 GRADO
high and 7 ft. 4 in. long, with twenty-one divisions, in three rows of seven panels, the bars being covered with leaf scrolls and with medallion half-lengths of Greek saints at the crossings. In the upper row, in the middle panel, is a half-length " Ecce Homo," right and left are the symbols of the Evangelists, and the outer corners have the Annunciation — the Virgin on the right, and the angel on the left. In the centre of the second row Christ sits in the attitude of blessing, with raised right hand, and holding an open book in the left. On its pages is inscribed : " Ego sum lux mundi qui in me crediderit non morietur in aeternum Amen." On the right are SS. John, Paul, and Fortunatus ; on the left, SS. Felix, Peter, and Martha. In the lowest row the centre shows a chalice with the Host ; on the right, SS. Hermagoras, Thecla, and Erasma ; on the left, SS. Dorothea, Euphemia, and another Fortunatus.
The patriarchal seat given by Heraclius to the Patriarch Primigenius was taken in 1520 to S. Mark's, Venice, where it may still be seen in the treasury. Pasini says it is certainly of Egyptian manufacture, in proof of which both the character of the ornaments and tradition are invoked. The Chronicles of the Acts of S. Mark in Aquileia, which are earlier than the eleventh century, say that it was covered with ivory plaques, " utique antiquo," but the large amount of carving upon it leaves little space for the attachment of further ornament. Its history seems quite clear. Heraclius brought it from Alexandria to Constantinople about 630, and between 1520 and 1534 it was behind the high-altar of S. Mark's. In the latter year it was moved into the baptistery on to the altar, where it stayed till taken into the treasury.
It is made of Oriental cipollino. The medallion at the top is cemented on. On it is a crux ansata, with
THE SEAT OF S. MARK 51
two figures at the sides, both in front and behind, be- lieved to be the four Evangelists. On the exterior of the arms are ten lighted tapers, thought to symbolise the ten churches founded in Africa by SS. Matthew and Mark. Below the medallion in front is a Lamb on a hill, from which the rivers of Paradise flow, and on which is either a vine or a fig-tree. On the back are an eagle and a lion, each with six wings. The background is starred, there are two palms at the bottom, and a Tree of Life in the space between the lion's lower wings. Above the eagle's head is a crescent. Beneath the tapers on the outside is a bull with six wings on a starred background, and on the other side an angel, also with six wings, with two palms below, and two little two- winged trumpeting angels in the top corners, on a similarly starred ground. These three sides have a band of lattice-work at the base ; the front has a panel with zigzag lines. The inscription on the front has puzzled paleographists. It has been read as Hebrew and as stating that it is the chair of S. Mark. A hole in the back and another in the side are thought to have perhaps held the debris of the wooden chair which he actually used.
Herr Graeven believes that he has identified several plaques of ivory which belonged to the chair in different museums. They all display the type of head afterwards used for S. Paul in Western art, which Dr. Strzygowski has identified as representing S. Mark in Alexandrian ivories.
The octagonal baptistery, to the north of the cathedral, shows no sign of its age, which must no doubt be considerable ; near to it is the church of S. Maria delle Grazie, which has fragments of similar paving to that in the cathedral, including the inscrip- tions. In the floor in front of the altar are also several pieces of ninth-century ciborium heads, and bits of
52 GRADO
twelfth-century carving. It is possible that the bap- tistery once had a canopy such as still exists at Cividale, and that the fragments here and at the cathedral formed part of it. The nave has six bays, with five antique columns on each side, of cipollino, granite, white and black, and white-veined marble. The caps are very varied. Some are Byzantine of the type of those at S. Apollinare in Classe ; two are truncated reversed pyramids with roughly cut scrolls on the surface, and one of these has a super-abacus. Two of them are queer, rough things, with brackets at the angles in place of volutes, and a deep abacus sloping back, with a cross upon it. The bases of the pillars are boxed in, as at the cathedral. An antique base serves as support to the holy-water basin. The floor has been mended with slabs of red and white marble and tiles, and the mosaic goes on into the rooms which flank the apse, at the ends of the aisles. This arrangement of the plan is exactly the same as that in a church at Kanytelides not far from Tarsus, the plan of which Miss Lowthian Bell gives in her book on Cilicia and Lycaonia ; it also occurs in the church of Bir-Umm-Ali in Tunisia. De Vogue gives two plans closely resembling it, and Mr. H. C. Butler describes some very similar plans near Is-Sanemen in the Northern Hauran (the ancient JEre), which are probably Const antinian. It seems certain that it is an Oriental importation, especially in connec- tion with the fact that the free-standing apse, as in the earlier church at Parenzo and at Salona, occurs quite frequently in Cilicia and Lycaonia, as Miss Lowthian Bell shows.
Between Grado and Aquileia is a little island with a celebrated church, S. Maria di Barbana. In the early centuries of the Christian era legend says that a picture of the Virgin floated hither on a springtide, and was caught in the branches of a little tree, which lived till
A FESTIVAL ON THE LAGOON 53
the middle of the nineteenth century when a great storm destroyed it. The picture and the church which contains it are the object of an annual pilgrimage on the Feast of the Assumption ; people from all around accompany a sacred picture from Grado to visit it. On this day the lagoon is alive with numberless craft, the priests' boat leading, with banners and tapers and fully vested ecclesiastics ; and the air resounds with simple church melodies. At Barbana the Virgin's picture waits on the pier to greet that from Grado ; and report says that it has been observed to nod at the moment the sister picture reached the shore !
V
GRADO TO TRIESTE
There is a small steamer which plies from Grado to Trieste, going one day and returning the next, but fine weather is very necessary for that mode of travel, as the sea can be very rough between Venice and Trieste. We did not hit the day of its sailing, so retraced our steps to Villa Vicentina and went via Monfalcone and Nabresina. Between these two places the railway rises steadily, giving fine views over the sea and plain. Looking forward and back the pale-grey line of the viaducts winds round and about the slopes like some gigantic snake, or like the aqueducts of the Campagna of Rome. Here the grey limestone breaks through the vegetation more and more, for the line is approaching the lofty stony plateau of the Karst, and enormous heaps of debris accentuate the position of the numerous quarries. They are very extensive, going far into the rock, which is also pierced by many great hollows, like entrances to an unknown under-world. All over Istria these memorials of sunken river channels occur — a maze of holes and paths, in which the water is still sinking deeper through the porous stone as through a sieve. Curious funnel-shaped depressions often occur amid uniform slopes, several hundred feet across and sometimes 200 ft. deep, as if worn by ancient whirl- pools, and many of the rivers become subterranean,
54
THE CASTLE OF DUINO 55
sometimes coming to the surface again many miles away. The river Rjeka, for instance, enters into the grottoes of S. Canzian, near Divaca — a succession of narrow abysses, hollows, pits, waterfalls, and stalactite grottoes, with pools in them ; and other examples will be noted farther down the coast.
The Castle of Duino has been called " The pearl of the Coastlands." It stands finely upon its rock, just where the diluvial plain meets the lime or sandstone formation. In a couple of hundred paces or so the vege- tation changes its character from that of upper Italy to the softness of the southern islands, the sheltered slope to the sea being like an evergreen garden. Aloes root in the rocks as at Sorrento, and even in winter the purple cyclamen may be found in flower. Its name in antiquity was Castrum Pucinum. Here Augustus had a villa, whence the best wine for his table was brought. From the line, too, the campanili of Grado and Aquileia are visible, far away over the plain, dark against lagoon or sky in the evening, or flashing white in the morn- ing sun.
At Monfalcone we took corner seats in an un- occupied carriage, but while we were arranging our things an old man, rather infirm, got in and made me to understand that he wanted mine. German was the language which he spoke. I thought perhaps I was intruding, though there was nothing on the seat to show that it was taken, so gave it up. We had two nice youths, who were talking Italian, at the other end of the compartment, cadets of some kind in uniform, going home for the Easter holidays. The old man was very short-sighted and gazed at the landscape through a little telescope. When we left Nabresina and went the other way to run down to Trieste, the views changed to the other side of the carriage, and to my astonishment the selfish old fellow moved across and
56 GRADO TO TRIESTE
turned one of the youths out of his place ! to which he submitted quite meekly.
The descent from the high land to the coast level is very fine, the eye ranging far over the blue water, headland projecting beyond headland, paler and more diaphanous, till the historic point of Salvore fades into the distance scarcely distinguishable. Below the blue is stained by the smoke of steamers and flecked with the many-coloured sails of other craft, while in the middle-distance populous Trieste stretches round the curve of the bay, with many vessels at its wharves, and the smoke from the Lloyd-Arsenal mingling with that from the ironworks at Muggia beyond S. Servolo across the bay ; or, if it should be night, lines of lights define the long stretch of quays and streets like strings of pearls, and sparkle up the heights which the houses climb in several directions. Prosecco is passed, which gives its name to a celebrated wine much esteemed in Trieste ; Miramar, with its memories of the ill-fated Maximilian of Mexico, who delighted in its beautiful situation and splendour of appointment ; then comes Barcola, where excavations have proved the existence of Roman villas, which have enriched the museum of Trieste with many interesting objects ; and at last the train slackens and stops at the west end of the town, in the fine station built with that disregard for economy of space and lavish expenditure of material which the Englishman finds remarkable in Continental railway management.
Trieste is primarily a modern town, and the people are very proud of the important buildings which adorn it, as they have every right to be. The post office, for instance, is palatial, and round and near to the Piazza Grande are large and showy edifices which include the Town Hall and the Lloyd Palace, while the Greek church is a fine building in the Byzantine style, de-
SHIPPING AT TRIESTE: THE CANAL, WITH THE GREEK CHURCH AND SANT' ANTONIO
To face page 57
THE QUAYS AT TRIESTE 57
corated with mosaics, and the church of Sant' Antonio makes a very effective termination to the Canale Grande. The broad quays are thronged with people of many nationalities and varied costumes, from the ships which lie along them flaunting ensigns of all kinds — red and white crosses, blue, yellow, and black stripes, moons and stars — Italian, Norwegian, Greek, Turkish, French, and Montenegrin, as well as Istrian and Dalmatian. The Greek ships generally lie in the Canal, the Norwegian by the Molo S. Carlo (so called from a warship which was sunk in 1737), and beyond the health office for the port at the Molo Giuseppino, where many others also lie, and the various passenger steamers in definite berths — the big English steamers at the end of the projecting quays. From a Sicilian ship hundreds of chests of oranges and lemons may be seen unloading ; from a Venetian trabarcolo great heaps of onions and ropes of garlic ; an Istrian boat disgorges a small mountain of green water-melons ; from a Dalmatian cutter barrel after barrel of wine is rolled out, much of which goes on to Bordeaux (!) ; and the same from a Greek schooner near, while its neighbour from the Levant lands grapes and chests of raisins, and the Norwegian ship brings train oil or wood. Many Turkish and Albanian costumes lighten up the crowd with their brilliant colours and quaint shapes, Bosniaks and Montenegrins are occasionally seen, and a fair number of Morlacchi, though fewer than lower down the coast. The weather-beaten Chioggian fishermen, too, with their red caps and waist-scarves, black curly hair and great rings in their ears, are very picturesque, though less unusual. The Triestines themselves are abandoning the old costume of the countryman, the " mandriere/' described as consisting of a long waistcoat with great silver buttons hanging on it, short black hose open at the knee, and a short
8
58 GRADO TO TRIESTE
black, close-fitting jacket. In summer he wore a broad, flapping hat ; in winter a costly cap of so-called beaver-skin, which he had probably inherited from his grandfather. The women had broad frocks with coloured borders, and a short, heavy cloth jacket ; and on their heads a white linen cloth hanging down behind, with costly lace upon it. The girl of the people, the " sessolotta," and the seamstress, the " sartorella," both go bareheaded, and are proud of their hair ; they are fond of flowers and songs, and spend much of their time in the open air. I quote a Gradese song, which is also sung at Trieste, and must be of some antiquity, since it names the gondola, which is not now seen either at Grado or Trieste.
Lisetta guarda, bella e la luna Argento piove sulla laguna, Non e una nuvola ; quieto e il mar — Lisetta, in gondola ti voi menar ?
La bavisella che va soffiando Con quel bel viso di quando in quando I biondi boccoli te li fa far — Lisetta, in gondola ti voi menar ?
The markets are rich with colour and well looked after. Officials go round constantly testing the ar- ticles of food sold, while the women (who are generally the sellers) look on with anxiety. A dozen or more, men and women, will bring in their wares on a cart, 10 or 15 ft. long, each putting a hand to the work.
The city existed in antiquity. Strabo knew it as a Carnian market- town. Various derivations of the Latin name " Tergeste " have been suggested, of which perhaps the most probable is from the Celtic " twr," water or sea, and " geste," colony, establishment. The fact that it was the only city held by the Carni on the sea-coast increases the probability. A Roman colony
ANCIENT TRIESTE 59
was established here in 129 B.C. The amount of tribute paid by the various cities is-an index of their import- ance ; both Pola and Parenzo paid more than Trieste. The Triestines were enrolled in the tribe Pupinia. The city was the landing-place for Roman troops, as was the case in Trajan's campaign against the Dacians. The fulling establishments of both Trieste and Pola were known far and wide.
The Romans made the hill of S. Giusto the centre of their colony, adding to the defensive works the temple of the Capitoline divinities, reconstructed with a magnificence worthy of the increased importance of the city by Clodius Quirinale, prefect of the fleet of Ravenna. Remains of it are the seven columns within the campanile (built in 1337 and restored in 1556), still bearing architrave, frieze, and cornice, and fragments of architectural carving and inscriptions encrusted in its walls, or preserved in the civic Museo Lapidario. There was an antique theatre at Trieste also ; its shape only can be traced, though the name of the street is still " Rena Vecchia."
S. Hermagoras is said to have planted a church here about 50 a.d., by means of missionaries sent from Aquileia. S. Giusto, one of the patron saints of the city, probably died about 303. The other two are S. Sergio, a soldier, whose halberd still appears in the arms of the town, and S. Servolo, a pious youth who lived at one time in a grotto not far from this place, where they both were martyred. There is said to have been a bishop in the fourth century, but the list of authentic bishops begins with Frugiferus in the sixth. When Christianity triumphed, a church was built on the Capitol on the ruins of the ancient temple of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption. This was the part to the north of the present church (see plan), now the nave of the Holy
60 GRADO TO TRIESTE
Sacrament, " del Santissimo," in the apse of which are the mosaics of the twelve Apostles, probably earlier than
l«T*r ft)ar» liOO
PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL, TRIESTE
the sixth century ; while those in the vault, together with the border, are later. Till some twenty years ago
THE CATHEDRAL, TRIESTE 61
a difference in the level of the floor between the three columns farthest east on each side (where the pulpit stands) marked the place of the original choir. The walled-up clerestory windows of the right side are ancient. The fourteen columns have been plastered over to make them uniform, but are evidently of differ- ent thicknesses, suggesting the use of older material. The caps are for the most part rough imitations of Corinthian, and the bases are stilted Attic in type. Of the baptistery nothing remains but the hexagonal font of marble in the chapel of S. John the Baptist, where there is also an ancient well and the apparatus for baptism by ablution, not now used. In the time of Justinian, the second, smaller, church (probably dedicated to SS. Giusto and Servolo) was erected at the south side by Bishop Frugiferus, about 550, as the monogram at the left of the apse shows. The mosaics in the apse are late Byzantine. Four great columns support a cupola in front of the presbytery, by means of four round arches, pendentives, and a drum, round which is an arcade of sixteen stilted round arches with foliated caps and prominently projecting abaci, which it is thought may belong to the original building, though the cupola itself is later. The small apse of the south aisle, with vaulted roof, also belonged to the first building. In front of the apses is a solea with a wagon vault, except in front of the small aisle apse, where it is quadripartite. The aisle is raised a step above the nave. The arcades are uniformly round-arched and stilted, and the caps generally have super-abaci. The north aisle has pointed arches at intervals and a flat roof ; the nave of the Santissimo also has a flat roof with beams and brackets. There is a triumphal arch and one blocked window in the apse, with mosaic on the splay of the jamb.
The mosaic in the semi-dome is probably an eleventh-
62 GRADO TO TRIESTE
century restoration of an older work, itself very care- fully restored in 1863. The Virgin, robed in blue and holding the Divine Child to her bosom, is enthroned between the archangels Michael and Gabriel, who hold lilies and are robed in priestly costume. The Child blesses with the right hand in the Greek fashion. Below, on the wall, are figures of the Apostles, of a very early date, for SS. Peter and Paul are without their usual attributes, and the white draperies shaded with pale colours are early Christian in arrangement. Be- tween the figures are palm-trees and conventional plant ornaments. The church is very dark, but the details of the mosaics may be studied in the careful copies in the museum. Above the altar of S. Giusto, to the right, in the semi-dome, SS. Giusto and Servolo stand on each side of our Saviour, beneath whose feet are two monsters, asp and basilisk. The central apse was reconstructed in the seventeenth century. The main reconstruction took place in the fourteenth century. The aisle walls of the two churches were demolished, and a nave built reaching from the pillars of one church to those of the other; thus uniting them under one roof, the western wall being placed contigu- ous to the campanile, and chapels added at each side. The memorial of the Gens Barbia was sawn in two and used as jambs for the west door, and inscriptions from the pedestals of statues and classical ornamental frag- ments were used in the campanile, both round the openings and close to the niche which encloses the statue of S. Giusto holding a model of the cathedral and castle. The consecration took place in 1385, Bishop Henry of Wildenstein officiating. Below the S. Giusto mosaics are wall-paintings of the fourteenth century, in niches of a much earlier date, with slender antique columns of precious marbles ; in the centre the saint stands with a model of the city in his hand — the earliest
THE CATHEDRAL, TRIESTE 63
record of its appearance extant ; the other niches show
FIGURE OF S. GIUSTO, CAMPANILE OF THE CATHEDRAL, TRIESTE
his sufferings. In the niche of S. Apollinaris are re- mains of frescoes of two dates found in 1892, and
64 GRADO TO TRIESTE
thought to belong to the sixth and the tenth centuries ; other remains of the fourteenth or fifteenth century, found under whitewash, prove that the whole church was ornamented with painting as the "Acts" relate. When the roof was raised the exterior of the drum of S. Giusto was enclosed within the church. The tri- lobate roof of the nave was mediaeval, but has lately been restored. The facade also was restored in 1843, and the gravestones ranged along its base were then removed from the floor.
In the sacristy is a picture signed Tommaso Giottino, and dated 1313 ; it is thought to have belonged to the high-altar. There is a picture by Benedetto Carpaccio, of the Madonna, between SS. Giusto and Servolo, in the right-hand portion of the church. The treasury is kept in the chapel of S. Antonio Abate, to the north of the apse of the Santissimo ; it is closed with a very fine late Renaissance German iron grille, with elaborate projecting floral bosses. It contains a thirteenth- century processional cross, with a repousse Christ on a ground of gilded silver.
The original wheel-window of the facade is in the Museo Lapidario, just below the cathedral, where a good many well-heads of Venetian type are also pre- served, and a few fragments of eighth and ninth- century carving, as well as the usual antique columns, bases, and inscriptions, one expects to find. There are also stone balista balls, relics of ancient sieges, many cinerary urns, and a few mutilated figures, grouped under the trees and upon the terraces which descend to the little temple in which the better pieces are housed. These include the lower half of a female figure, graceful in pose, and, in the folds of the drapery, a decree of the Decurions' College of Trieste in honour of the quaestor and Senator Fabius Severus (of the time of Antoninus Pius), engraved on one of two large
ANTIQUE REMAINS
65
pedestals, a sarcophagus and steles, the inscriptions from the jambs of the campanile, &c. The collection is mainly due to Dr. Dom. di Rossetti, who, in 1830, erected the monument to Winckelmann (murdered here in 1768), which is against one of the walls. Near the Jesuit church, half- way down the slope of the hill, is a half-buried Roman arch of the time of Severus, orna- mented equally on both sides, perhaps a me- morial of one of the ancient gates. It is known as the Arco di Ric- car do , from some fancied connection with Richard Cceur de Lion.
The finest objects in the Civic Museum are two pieces of antique Greek metal- work found at Taranto. One is a bronze jug, upon which are represented two griffins, facing each other by the sides of a palmette, with a flowing band of vine- leaves surrounding the body above. The relief is very delicate, and the design beautiful. The other is a
9
ARCO DI RICCARDO, TRIESTE
66 GRADO TO TRIESTE
rhyton of silver which is almost unique. The motif is the head of a young deer. The ears, which project at right angles, are riveted on ; the rest is repousse in one piece. It is so finely modelled and so accurate in its detail, that it has been recognised as a representation of the Cervus Dama, which was formerly common in South Italy. The interior of the ears and the lip of the cup have been gilt, and in the nostrils is niello. Round the neck is a band with four small figures, probably repre- senting the nuptials of Poseidon and Saturia, daughter of Minos, from which sprang Taras, the mythical founder of Taranto. Two of the figures are seated, two standing ; their draperies are gilded. The handle curves gracefully to the back of the jawbones, where it is attached to a palmette. The work may be of the fourth century B.C., the doe's head being much finer than the figures, which are possibly a later addition. The only similar piece of silver-work known is the bulFs-head rhyton in the Hermitage Collection, St. Petersburg. In this also the figures (which are of barbarians) are inferior to the animal forms.
There are various sculptures discovered at Barcola, the finest of which is a male torso with the greater part of the legs, prehistoric objects, coins, a personification of Istria, things found at Pirano, and three splendid large Chinese bronzes. The copies of the mosaics of the Apostles from S. Giusto are on the ceiling of the upper room. A seal of the city of the fourteenth century bears three towers and the inscription : " Sis- tilianum ' publica * Castilir * mare * Certos * dat ' michi * fines." Sistiana was on the north of Trieste ; Castilir, the river Risano, was the southern boundary. The present arms were given by Frederick IV., 1464 — a black two-headed eagle on gold on the first of three horizontal fields, and on the lowest the halberd of S. Sergius, on the colours of the archduchy of Austria.
LATER HISTORY OF TRIESTE 67
The bishopric of Trieste corresponded to the Roman municipium in its boundaries. The bishops gradually became temporal lords of the city, and in 1295 the commune bought its freedom from Brissa di Toppo for two hundred marks. At this time the first communal palace was built. The first statute, however, dates from 13 13-13 19. It provides for a foreign podesta, a greater and lesser council, and the usual officials from the noble families. The title of Count of Trieste was first taken by Antonio di Negri (1350-1370). During his time Venice besieged the city for eleven months, conquering it in 1368, notwithstanding the attempted succour of Leopold of Austria. They then built a fort on the hill of S. Giusto and another on the shore called Amarina. Trieste made overtures to the dukes of Austria, and war continued between them and Venice till 1370, when it was ended by the peace of Kaisach, by which Venice agreed to pay 75,000 florins of gold, and to give up the castle of Vragna, as well as to relinquish all claim to Trieste and her territory. The Venetian forts were demolished, and in 1382 the city gave itself to the Habsburgs to make itself secure. In 1470 Frederick III. built the castle to control the factions which had been indulging in civil war, and Trieste lost a good deal of her liberty. The mediaeval city formed a triangle on the north-west slope of the castle. Till the middle of the eighteenth century it was a small town of 6,000 inhabitants, but the gift of free harbour rights by Charles VI., in 1719, soon made it prosperous. Italian, German, and Swiss merchants settled in numbers, and the population grew till it is now over 160,000.
The bishop of Trieste was subject to the Patriarch of Aquileia, and a special form of worship was used, invented by the Patriarch Paulinus. This is still in existence, partly printed and partly in MS.
68 GRADO TO TRIESTE
On Saturday, June 10, 1501, Canon Johannes Baptista, the chancellor, used the Roman rite in the cathedral for the first time, a fact noted as remarkable in several documents. In Aquileia itself the form continued in use till 1585, and in S. Mark's, Venice, till the fall of the Republic. In Trieste confraternities were established very early. That of S. Giusto is mentioned in 1072.
VI
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ISTRIA
The name " Istria " is derived from the Istro, con- founded by the ancient geographers with the Danube (Ister), and therefore supposed to be a branch of it. Considering the testimony of ancient writers as to the migration of Thracians, it appears probable that the Istrians were of these people, a band who left Pontic Istria by ascending the rivers Danube, Save, and Lubiana, crossed the Julian Alps, and descended to the Adriatic. Some such migration may be at the root of the story of the passage of the Argonauts, pursued by the Colchians. In the ninth century B.C. Ionians from Miletus settled colonies in Istria, who were followed by Corinthians in 735 B.C. It has been claimed that the name " Adriatic " is derived from Adar, the Asiatic sun- god, or god of fire. Plenty of stone implements and other prehistoric objects have been found in caves and burial places, and there are many Celtic place-names ; the Celts arrived in the fourth or fifth century B.C., and contested the country with the older immigrants. Under Roman rule the two races ultimately intermixed, the Celts being in the majority.
The oldest inhabitants thus appear to have been of Pelasgic stock, Celto-Thracian. The Carnians were a branch of those of Lycaonia and Acarnania, who also settled in Gaul, and, according to Livy, mixed with the Etruscans during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus.
69
yo HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ISTRIA
They were sailors and merchants, but also pirates. When the Romans founded Aquileia they were forced to take measures to ensure safe navigation and to pre- vent danger to the new colony. Therefore, in 178 B.C., an expedition against the Istrians was undertaken under the Consul Aulus Manlius Vulso, but without the authorisation of the Senate, the army being trans- ported by ship to the environs of Muggia. The Istrians attacked the camp in a fog, and, having driven the Romans to the shore, sat down to eat — and drink. While they were incapacitated in consequence, the Romans returned and killed most of them. The follow- ing year they entered Istria again, sacking and devas- tating the country. In the battle which followed, 4,000 Istrians were left on the field, and the rest took refuge in the cities, and asked for peace. The negotiations were broken off owing to the Consul Claudius proceeding in an irregular manner, and Nesactium was vigorously besieged with two fresh legions. A stream which defended the walls and supplied drinking-water was diverted by the Romans ; its failure convinced the inhabitants that their gods were either powerless or angry, and during the final assault the despairing Istrians killed their women and children to save them from slavery, and threw their bodies over the walls. Epulus, the king, fell upon his sword when he saw the enemy within the walls ; the rest either perished or were made slaves. Mutila and Faveria were also attacked and levelled with the ground, and quiet reigned in Istria. Livy says that at that time 5,622 persons were sold into slavery, the authors of the war were beaten and then decapitated, and Istria was garrisoned with Roman troops. In 129 B.C. the Istrians rose in revolt when Rome was occupied with the Gepid war. The Consul Caius Sempronius Tuditanus crushed this revolt, and after that colonies were established at
ISTRIA UNDER THE EMPIRE 71
Mgida. (Capodistria), iEmonia (Cittanova), Albona, Par- entium, Piquentum, Pola, Tergeste, and probably in other places. Many Istrians fled into the Karst region, and for a long time the land was unsafe. Julius Caesar had to take measures to protect Tergeste from raids.
The Italianising of the country proceeded apace. Many Slav names occur in Roman inscriptions ; but in 127 B.C. 14,000 Roman colonists arrived, and year by year more came, until the time of Augustus, both plebeians and patricians. Many of the latter of Istrian birth occupied important posts outside Istria ; and, according to an ancient Aquileian breviary quoted by Dr. Kandler, many of the Christian martyrs be- longed to patrician families. The names of SS. Euphemia, Thecla, Apollinaris, Lazarus, Justina, Zeno, Sergius, Bacchus, Servulus, and Justus may be quoted. The towns benefited in material ways, aqueducts were constructed to supply them with water, and fine roads, such as the consular road from Pola to Aquileia and Venetia, with its many branches, provided easy and rapid communication. There was traffic in wines, wood, marble, and granite. Istrian acorns nourished a fine breed of pigs which were exported to Rome. The purple-dyeing factories of Cissa near Rovigno, the fulling works of Pola and Trieste, and the potteries of Aquileia were known far and wide. Nor were philan- thropic works neglected. Under some of the later Pagan emperors foundling hospitals and schools were established in separate provinces for orphans and poor children.
Under the just and wise rule of Theodoric the province flourished ; but the people always regarded the Goths as barbarians, and when the Byzantines attacked Istria in 539-544 and 552 the troops of Vitalius, Belisarius, and Narses were welcomed. They called
72 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ISTRIA
the Greek Government " Sancta Respublica/' and erected basilicas in gratitude for the freeing of the land from the Arian Goths. Justinian re-established the Roman constitution with certain alterations, among which was the power of appeal to the court of the bishop, which gave him control and surveillance over the municipal functionaries. His power was not supreme, however, the military defence of the frontier being equally important. For some sixty years the ' ' Schism of the Three Chapters" rent this part of Christendom, and caused a great deal of ill-feeling and many question- able actions. It arose from the Emperor Justinian in 544 condemning (i) the writings of Theodore, bishop of Mopsnestia, who anticipated the heresy of Nestorius ; (2) the writings of Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, against the twelve anathemas of S. Cyril of Alexandria, and the decrees of the Council of Ephesus ; and (3) the letter of Ibas, bishop of Edessa, to Maris the Persian. The Latin Church, with Vigilius the pope at its head, declined to accept the Imperial decree, which was in contradiction to the Council of Chalcedon of 451. In 548 the pope, while at Constantinople, was induced to repudiate them ; but, on finding how strong the opposition was, revoked his agreement in 550, and induced the emperor to summon a council, which met in 553 and condemned the three chapters and their authors. The pope returned to Rome, and died there in 554, having con- firmed the decision of the Council of Constantinople, and anathematised those who refused to accept it. Not- withstanding this, the bishops of Lombardy, Venice, and Istria, with the Aquileian patriarch Macedonius at their head, and other bishops, refused, and this refusal produced the " Istrian schism/' or schism of the " Tre Capitoli.,, Paulinus, who succeeded Mace- donius, called a synod at Aquileia in 557, which repudiated the decision of the Council of Constanti-
THE SCHISM OF THE THREE CHAPTERS 73
nople. Pelagius II., who was then pope, called in the secular arm, but the descent of the Lombards in 568 stopped the discussion. Euphrasius of Parenzo was one of the principal supporters of Macedonius, and the pope did not hesitate to make the most disgraceful charges against him. In 578 Paulinus transferred the patriarchate to Grado, so putting himself under Byzan- tine protection. Elias of Grado held the same opinions as his predecessor, even excommunicating his adver- saries. His successor, Severus, holding the same views, Smaragdus the Exarch made an expedition to Grado in 588, took Severus and the bishops of Parenzo and Trieste to Ravenna, and kept them there in prison for a twelvemonth, till they agreed to condemn the three chapters. When they returned they found their clergy would not go with them, so a synod was convened at Marano, and there they revoked their condemnation. Smaragdus, exarch again in 603, so arranged matters that on the death of Severus (who had preached revolt) Candidiano was appointed patriarch, a man who was devoted to the papal authority, and who reconciled himself with Rome, thus ending the schism. It had caused grievous disorders, the bishops being sometimes for and sometimes against it, and the clergy sometimes in strife among themselves and sometimes with the Patriarch of Grado ; but the mode in which it was ended was quite as disgraceful as any of the deeds done during its course. In 610 armed Byzantine soldiers entered the basilicas and dragged three Istrian bishops from the altars, with menaces and vituperation, com- pelling them to accompany them to Grado, where they were forced to bend to the Imperial commands and reconsecrate Candidiano patriarch.
The Lombards re-established the patriarchate of Aquileia, electing Abbot John, who was opposed to the pope,' and thus there was a double patriarchate. The
10
74 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ISTRIA
Aquileian patriarchs only became reconciled to the papacy in 698 when the Lombards had ceased to be Arians. The Istrian bishops obeyed the Patri- arch of Grado until the Council of Mantua (827), which decided that they should return to Aquileia. Istria was Lombard only from 751 to 788.
When Charlemagne conquered the country in 789 feudalism was substituted for the Roman autonomy with the co-operation of the higher clergy. The Frank duke was supreme, and his underlings had arbitrary power. Public property was confiscated for the benefit of the duke and his supporters, and all kinds of arbi- trary and exorbitant imposts and restraints were imposed upon the people, even to the prohibition of fishing ! The result was great discontent, and at last, in 804, by the intervention of Fortunatus, Patriarch of Grado, an inquiry was held at Risano, the acts of which were embodied in the " placito " of Risano. The envoys of Charlemagne restored the communal property and the jurisdiction over foreigners, exempted freemen from servile tasks, suppressed arbitrary imposts, and restored the tribunes and other Byzantine magistrates, whom the people were allowed to select freely according to the ancient custom. In 952 Istria became a German fief by gift of Otho I. of Germany (who had conquered Italy the year before) in feud to his brother Henry, duke of Bavaria, together with Verona and Friuli. Documents show the presence of large numbers of persons of German origin during the tenth century ; but the maritime cities, depending upon commerce, were forced into connection with Venice by the necessity of making arrangements for mutual defence against Slav and Saracen Corsairs, and thus the foundations were laid for the Republic's later supremacy.
Great part of the history of Istria relates to incur- sions by the barbarians, either beaten off, or successful,
BARBARIANS AND PIRATES 75
with the destruction of towns, and the carrying off of slaves and booty. The descent of the Lombards was followed by a raid of the Avars in 599, but they were beaten off. Three years later they came again in company with Slavs and Lombards. In 611 the Huns or Slovens descended on Istria,in 670 they were defeated near Cividale by Duke Vetturi, and in 718 were con- quered in three battles near Lauriana by Duke Pemmo. His son Ratchis copied the bad example of the Huns, sacking and killing far into Carniola. Between 620 and 630 the Serbo-Croats descended from the Carpathians and crossed the Danube by suggestion of Heraclius, driving the Avars from Dalmatia and taking their place. The result of these constant barbarian raids was the concentration of the population in the towns on the sea-coast.
The pirates in the Adriatic were first the Narentans and next the Saracens, who devastated the coasts of Dalmatia in 840, fruitlessly besieging Ragusa for fifteen months, and afterwards taking Taranto and Bari. In 842 they defeated the Venetians at Taranto, and, on the octave of Easter, took Ossero and burnt it. They then passed on to Ancona and Adria, and as they returned captured a whole Venetian squadron. In 876 the Slavs of Croatia and Dalmatia raided the Istrian coast towns, but were defeated at Grado. The Emperor Basil occupied Dalmatia in 8yy on the pretext of Slav piracy. He gave the tribute from the Roman cities of Dalmatia to the Croats and Narentans, so that Spalato, Zara, Trau, Arbe, and the Byzantine cities of Veglia and Ossero had to pay tribute to the Croats. The successful expedition of Pietro Orseolo II. against the Narentan pirates tended to the greater security of the coast towns and strengthened the bond which Venice was weaving.
In 933 a solemn treaty of peace was signed at
76 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ISTRIA
Rialto between Istria and Venice by the Marquis of Istria, the bishops of Pola and Cittanova, two " loco- positi," two - scabini," and twelve other trustees from Pola, Capodistria, Muggia, and Pirano, there convened. A fresh treaty was made in 977 with Capodistria, giving Venice special advantages, and these negotiations were carried on without reference to the Imperial authority, the nominal feudal lord. Walking thus warily, avoid- ing offence to the Emperor of Germany, Venice took 200 years of continuous political action to acquire the Istrian cities. By 1145 Venice had obtained for her- self liberty of commerce in most of the Istrian towns and complete exemption from any kind of taxation ; she had established at Pola and Capodistria a repre- sentative, to look after the punctual execution of treaties, and to protect Venetians from injustice, and had also made the Istrian cities pay her a tribute, either in money or products, obtaining also assistance for her navy from them whenever it was fighting beyond Zara and Ancona. The importance attached by Venice to these concessions is proved by the triumph which was given to the squadron ' of Morosini and Gradonico when returning victorious from Istrian waters. It was then that the doge assumed the title of " dux totius Istriae,'' but the dates of the dedition of the several cities are much later. The re-organisation of the communes took place between 1150 and 1180. The podesta had a council of assessors, the " consiglio minore " ; the larger ™ consiglio del popolo " was called together for the more important matters, such as declaration of war, conclusion of peace, legislation, imposition of taxes, election of podesta and consuls, &c. ; while many documents show that the whole body of citizens was summoned to a a parlamento " for the publication of new laws, very important deliberations requiring practical unanimity, the installation of fresh
COMMUNAL REGULATIONS 77
magistrates, &c. The " statute' ' was apparently drawn up when a foreign podesta succeeded to native consuls as an assertion of the ancient judicial custom. That of Capodistria, the earliest, is of 1238-1239 ; that of Pola, 1264. As soon as the communes began to extend their work of domestic supervision a " fontico " was established, a place where corn was sold at little above cost price. Everything was supervised — the time of vintage and of selling the new wine was fixed, the amount of bread to be baked in each oven was prescribed, the justices tasted the wine before the taverners began to sell, cut off the tails of fish unsold by the evening, and generally looked after the strict fulfilment of the regulations affecting food. As the vintage approached, the guards in the vineyards were doubled, and, from August 3, dogs were tethered to a stake to intimidate thieves. The prices of foreign goods were fixed and, before commencing to sell, merchants were obliged to expose their wares on the quays or in the piazza for three days. Standard measures were cut in stone in conspicuous places, and at Albona the various imposts were carved on the clock- tower in the piazza. Armed men were not allowed to enter the cities, and the officials interested themselves in everything going on, an example of which may be quoted from Pirano. When S. Francesco was built in 1301, the podesta carried the first stone on his shoulder, and set it in the ground before the assembled people. Venice succeeded the patriarch as overlord of the Istrian communes in 1420, and after this the history of Istria is merged in that of the Republic.
The ravages of the plague were fearful, and practi- cally depopulated the province, returning again and again till 1 63 1. In the fourteenth century it decimated the Brioni Islands ; no less than five Benedictine convents
78 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ISTRIA
were abandoned — three in Pola and one near Barbana d'Arsia, as well as that on the Brioni Islands. In Muggia an inscription states that half the population died in 1347. In I3^1 Ossero was so devastated that two years later the bishop abandoned it and went to live in Zara. In 1371 the country round Pola was so afflicted that of seventy-two towns only eleven preserved their names, the rest disappearing without leaving any trace. In Cittanova in 1643 there were only ten inhabitants left, the bishop abandoned it to live in Buie or Verten- eglio, and in 1686, as there were not enough citizens to constitute a council, they had to add strangers to make a quorum. Angelo Morosini, podesta of Capodistria in 1646, described it as " Goddess of desolation and refuge of solitude itself." Parenzo was so severely smitten that only thirty persons remained. At Pola in 1 63 1 there were but 300 persons left, including the garrison of foreigners, and of the citizens but three families. This was the last visitation.
VII
MUGGIA TO PIRANO
From Trieste steamers, large and small, ply to most of the places on the coast, and the islands down to Fiume. Though there is railway communication with a few places, travelling by water is much pleasanter in fine weather, and the towns are more easily acces- sible from the seaside. The country people throng to market in the early hours of the morning, and are ready to return by the time the average English tourist has finished his breakfast and sets out sightseeing.
We went to Muggia about midday by one of the little steamboats which round the Punta S. Andrea, and, passing the Lloyd-Arsenal, cross the bay, the Vallone di Muggia. The boat was full of belated con- tadini, for the most part rugged and picturesque, among whom was an old woman with a few long candles, which she vainly offered for sale to every person on the boat ; a boy with nuts and sweets was more fortunate, and lessened his stock considerably. The deck was lumbered up with baskets, milk-cans, &c, which had been full in the early morning, and most of the passengers had bundles and parcels containing their purchases. Some thirty minutes were sufficient in the fine weather with which we were favoured to take us across, and, passing the smoky iron-works which are the principal industry of modern Muggia, we disembarked at the little quay, and immediately became objects of
79
8o
MUGGIA TO PIRANO
interest to a small crowd of impertinent boys. Our principal objective was the ancient church on the hill where Muggia Vecchia once stood. We found on inquiry that it was closed as being in a dangerous state. This entailed visits to the municipio and to the parish priest, under escort of a uniformed official, who then con- ducted us by a steep and stony path up the hill Monte
WEST END OF THE CHURCH, MUGGIA VECCHIA
Michele, towards the summit of which, higher than the church, prehistoric graves have been found, consisting of stone slabs set roughly together, making a kind of chest which opens on to the hillside. The church stands amid fragments of ruined walls, the remains of the town destroyed by the Genoese in 1354. To the west is a stony space where wild irises grow and bloom profusely in the crevices of the rocks, and from which
< --4
CHOIR-SCREEN AND AMBO, MUGGIA VECCHIA
To face page 81
MUGGIA VECCHIA 81
there is a fine view over the sea northwards to the high- lands of the Karst. Between this flowery wilderness and the church is an open grassy space enclosed by a wall, and with a few trees round its edges, which was probably the atrium. Opening upon this is the narthex, an open portico level with the tower which stands at the west end of the north aisle, with a stone seat running round the wall. Two steps lead down into the nave, and there is a door in the south aisle, which has two windows, the clerestory having four ; though on the north side, where the graveyard lies, there are none. The building consists of a nave and aisles divided by an arcade of five round arches upon rectangular piers without caps, the two eastern bays being enclosed by dwarf walls with framings of marble slabs upon which interlacing patterns of the ninth century are carved. They return across the ends of the aisles, in each of which is an altar beneath a wagon vault, though there is no apse. The central apse is vaulted with a semi-dome, but does not show externally. The choir is raised two steps above the nave, and the altar is approached by a third. The ambo or pulpit stands outside the screen on four columns, approached by steep steps from within ; an octagonal column of coloured marble supports a slab for a book-rest, facing eastwards at the foot of the steps. In plan the ambo somewhat resembles that at Grado, with six half- colonnettes projecting from the curved form, two of them terminating in heads on each side of the book- rest, itself supported on an octagonal shaft which dies into its underside with very flat vine or oak leaves spread over the surface. The whole has been so plentifully whitewashed that detail is nearly obliter- ated, but there is sufficient difference between the styles of various parts to make it probable that a recon- struction took place at some period, older material
82
MUGGIA TO PIRANO
being employed to a great extent. The fact that two of the bases have angle claws and are manifestly not in their original position supports this theory. The altar to the left is part of a Roman sarcophagus with a funerary inscription in letters of the Imperial period :
c • IVLIO
NICOSTRATO
FILIO ' PIISSIMO
ANN ' XVIII ' M ' Villi * D * XII
IVLIVS * NICOSTRATVS.
PLAN OF PULPIT, MUGGIA VECCHIA
Upon the piers and walls are remains of paintings of various dates. On the first pier to the left is S. Catherine, vested as a Byzantine empress. Further to the east are the Madonna "Blacherniotissa" and S. Dominic, and near the ambo figures of the four Evan- gelists ; the last apparently of the period of the founda- tion of the church, the ninth or early tenth century. On the last pier, which is broader than the others, and suggests a later addition (perhaps in the thirteenth century), is a gigantic S. Christopher, roughly painted, and with the well-known inscription stating that whoso looks at it will not die a sudden death that day. The
MUGGIA NUOVA 83
aisles have lean-to roofs, and the nave roof we found shored up, the supporting timbers being wreathed with garlands of artificial flowers. The dedication is to- SS. Peter and Paul.
As we descended the hill our guide, observing that flowers interested us, made a sudden dive through the gate of a garden full of wallflowers and picked a bunch for us, presenting it with as much grace as if they had been his own ! a proceeding to which the rightful owners appeared to have no objection. The more modern town lay below us with its walls and towers, some of them ruinous and some restored, and looked picturesque enough except for the ancient castle which has been turned into a modern house by its latest purchaser, who has tried with more zeal than judg- ment to copy the style of the older portions. Through the postern by which we had left the town a number of workmen from the iron-works straggled, grimy and weary ; in their modern dress and employment marking a contrast with their surroundings. Muggia Nuova first appears in history in 1235. When Paganino Doria destroyed Monticula (Muggia Vecchia) in 1354, the port Vicuna Lauri (now Muggia) increased, and twenty years later was surrounded with walls by the Patriarch Marquand da Randeck after his triumphal entry. It had nine square towers, a bastioned keep on the east, and a barbican with unequal sides, which covered the Porta a Mare, or of S. Rocco. Three other gates, the Porta Grande, which faced to the country, the Porta S. Francesco or Del Castello, and the Portizza, which joined the Imperial road of Zaule with a draw- bridge, added to the defences, and a chain closed the port.
The nave of the church is of the eighteenth cen- tury, the apse twelfth, and the facade of the fifteenth century, with a wheel window of 1467 above the
84 MUGGIA TO PIRANO
west door, and a gable of an ogee-trefoil shape. In the centre of the rose of sixteen rays is a little relief of the Virgin and Child ; the tracery is like that of the cathedral at Trieste. The door is square- headed, with a cable moulding on the inner and a dentil on the outer edge, and with a slightly ogee tympanum above, in which are an enthroned God the Father with Christ in His lap, two kneeling figures with palms at the sides, and two little angels on the uprights of the throne. On the architrave is an Agnus Dei. Two windows, slightly ogee-headed, flank the door. Coats of arms and inscriptions give the date. The treasury contains a late Gothic ostensory with Re- naissance patterns on the foot, a chalice which has portions of several dates, and a seventeenth-century processional cross. The contemporary municipal palace is now made into dwelling-houses, though the lion of S. Mark, with closed book and the date 1444, still looks down from the wall, and the shapes of the windows reveal a mediaeval building.
While we were on the hill the few children had become a crowd, and our proceedings were much hampered, although our friendly guard adopted very rough measures more than once to keep them in order. The people have always been turbulent and unruly, and no doubt there is still an hereditary disposition among them to resist authority, though one must acknowledge that it was only among the young that we ourselves observed it.
Muggia Vecchia is first mentioned in a diploma of Ugo and Lothair, king of Italy, in 971, by which the Castello was given to the church of Aquileia. In 1202, when the Venetians were on their way to the Holy Land, they subjected the coast towns under the pretext of enforcing jthe patriarch's rights. Doge Enrico Dandolo disembarked at Muggia with
HISTORY OF MUGGIA 85
part of his troops, and was received by clergy and people with the ringing of bells. The citizens being collected swore fealty and subjection to the Republic, promising not to help pirates, and to pay each S. Martin's Day twenty-five " orne " of good wine. From this date till 1420 the city was ruled by a podesta elected every six months by the council and confirmed by the patriarch. There were three judges and several " an- ziani," who formed the lesser council, to attend to daily business. In the thirteenth century it had its own statute, and at that time the commune paid a doctor, a surgeon, and a schoolmaster. The crest is a turreted castle, seen on the campanile of the old church borne by two figures. It was sometimes under Venice and sometimes under the patriarch till 1420. At one time four noble hostages were confined for the latter in Cividale, who were obliged to prove their presence every day ; at another the procurator swore fealty to Venice and received the standard of S. Mark with much pomp. In 1371 the council decided to elect every year two upright men who should do their best to settle disputes and quarrels among the citizens, and in case of failure to report to the council, when extraordinary measures were to be taken. The next year Raffaello Steno attacked the city at the head of the exiles and killed many supporters of the patriarch, sacking their houses and proscribing his followers ; and it was only at the end of 1374 that he succeeded in retaking the town, coming in person to do so. After his triumphal entry in that year a castle was built to keep the people in subjection, and a castellan with a garrison was left in it ; but the town rebelled again in 1377.
Capodistria is at the head of the next bay to the south-west, on rising ground which was once an island, though now joined to the mainland. From the sea the most conspicuous building is a great yellow prison.
S6 MUGGIA TO PIRANO
There is also a naval school there, the cadets from which have to endure a certain amount of chaff when they acknowledge having spent five years at Capodistria. According to Dandolo the city was founded on the island of Capraria, and named in honour of Justin II. (565-578) Justinopolis ; the fact of its having been free of money taxes during the Byzantine dominion makes some such origin probable ; but it occupies the site of the Roman colony of iEgida, founded in 128 B.C., and a few antique fragments have been found, such as the restored statue of Justice on the communal palace, a Roman work of the Lower Empire, and the reliefs of an ox and a female dancer encrusted in the wall of a garden. In the church of S. Clemente there is also a little round antique altar, used as a holy-water basin. Under Pietro Orseolo a treaty was made between Venice and Capodistria in 977, under which the hundred amphoras of wine (which had been sent since 932 as an annual present to the doge, and handed by him to the Patriarch of Grado) wTere made obligatory and a per- petual tribute, while a Venetian officer resided in Capo- distria to look after it. Another stipulation was that the city should always be at peace with Venice, even if the rest of Istria were at war. The Venetian represen- tative or consul had the right to sit with the Capodis- trian judges whenever a Venetian had cause to appear before them. In 1145, envoys had to go to Venice to swear on the Gospels true and loyal fidelity to S. Mark, the Doge Polano, and all his successors, and to the commune of Venice, undertaking to renew the oath on the election of each new doge. In 1186 the commune was represented by a podesta and four consuls, the year in which the bishopric was founded on the strength of their promise to provide sufficient income. Eight years later they were obliged to decree that if any one did not pay his dues by the usual time he should have
THE FORTIFICATIONS, CAPODISTRIA 87
his vineyard taken away, and if the tithe of oil was not paid by the Purification, it should be doubled. It was the first Istrian city with a fully formed commune, and the notice of the meeting of the council on July 5, 1186, is the earliest notice preserved of such a meeting. The first statute appears in 1238-1239.
When Venice had acquired the city the senate com- manded Tommaso Gritti and Piero Gradenigo to build Castel Leone ; it was constructed astride the road which crossed the marshes, so that all travellers and vehicles entering or leaving the city had to pass through it. The walls, for which the Patriarch Gregorio Monte- lungo was responsible, were damaged in 1278, when the city swore fealty to Venice, and were thrown down on the sea side after the insurrection of 1348. They were not completely repaired till the sixteenth century. In 1550 Michele Sanmicheli, and subsequently his nephew Alvise Brignoli and others were sent by the senate to report, and finally the repair of the walls of many of the Istrian towns was committed to Constantine and Francesco Capi. A hundred years later they were in such a state that Stefano Capello reported that it was useless to guard the gates, for entrance was easy through the ruinous part of the walls. The only portion now remaining is the Porta della Muda, built by Sebastian Contarini in the seventeenth century. It bears an inscription of 1701 stating that the sea then no longer flowed round it.
The Palazzo Comunale was burnt after the revolt of 1348, when the city had to surrender unconditionally, the clergy carrying crosses, and the citizens in procession, followed by the soldiers and the other foreigners, meet- ing the army outside the gates. Fifty of the persons most compromised were sent to Venice for trial, and the city was punished by increase of taxation and modifi- cation of some of the chapters of the statute. A few
88 MUGGIA TO PIRANO
years after it rebelled again, and was then deprived of all municipal rights. The burnt portion of the palace was ordered to be restored in 1353, but it had to be pulled down afterwards, and in 1385 the senate gave orders to the Podesta Leonardo Bembo to level it and rebuild. It bears resemblance in some of its details to palaces of the Bembo family in Venice. It was not completed till 1447, under Domenico Diedo. The right wing was altered in 1481, and further damaging alterations were made in 1664 by Vincenzo Bembo, who was so proud of his work that he put up a pompous inscription. There are numerous coats of arms of podestas and busts on the facade, the earliest of which is dated 1432. Under the portico were the " bocche del leone " for secret denunciations, and, though the masks are gone, the chests within are still in position.
At right angles to the Palazzo Comunale is the cathedral, with the campanile projecting and flanking the facade to the south. It has a ground story of Gothic, three pointed arches, the central one pierced by a doorway with clustered pillars, and figures beneath niches above them, and an upper .story with classic pilasters and cornice, the central space pierced by a circular window. These are somewhat the characteris- tics of the cathedral at Cividale, of which two Capodis- trians, Bartolommeo Costa and Giovanni Sedula, were architects. It was reconsecrated in 1445, but the upper part was not finished till 1598. The side doors, with beautiful arabesques carved on the jambs, were con- structed with material from the tribune in which the big Carpaccio was housed. It was destroyed in 1714 during the restoration of the cathedral. There is a terra-cotta medallion of Const antine Copronymus on the facade. The present campanile is of 1480. The great bell was cast in 1333 by two sons of the celebrated bell-founder, Jacopo da Venezia. Under the bell-chamber of the older
PICTURES IN THE CATHEDRAL 89
campanile was an iron cage in which ecclesiastics guilty of grievous crime were exposed, a punishment abolished in 1497.
The interior of the church, considered the finest of the period in Istria, was recast in 1741 by the Venetian engineer Giorgio Massari. Under the last arch of the nave to the right is a picture by Vittore Carpaccio, signed and dated 15 16 — a Madonna and Child en- throned upon a damask-hung seat raised on five steps, which are covered with an Oriental carpet. Upon the steps saints are ranged, SS. Jerome, Roch, and an old man to the left — perhaps Zacchariah or Joseph ; SS. Sebastian, George, and a bishop to the right — probably S. Louis of Toulouse : at the bottom a little lute- playing angel sits, flanked by two amorini on a lower level with white drapery. The Virgin is seated in an arched vestibule with a flat ceiling through which the sky and trees are seen. It was restored in 1829. Another picture from S. Nicolo near the port shows the Virgin with SS. Nicholas of Bari and John the Baptist. The organ wings were painted by Vittore' s son Benedetto in 1538, and two other pictures of his are affixed to the west wall. The subjects are the Slaughter of the Inno- cents and the Presentation in the Temple. Other pictures by him are a Coronation of the Virgin, in the communal palace, signed and dated 1537, his earliest known picture ; the Virgin between SS. James and Bartholomew, 1538 ; and the town damaged by a sea- storm. In Santa Anna is a picture of the Name of Jesus adored by SS. Paul, John the Baptist, Francis, and Ber- nardino, and surrounded by cherubs' heads. In the communal palace an indifferent picture of the entrance of a podesta escorted by the councillors (dated 15 17) is ascribed to Vittore Carpaccio, who has been claimed as a Capodistrian, as his son Benedetto certainly was. He lived in the Largo di Porta S. Martino, in an old house
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90 MUGGIA TO PIRANO
of two stories. In 1500 it was inhabited by the Scar- paza family, and before that they possessed a little farm in the locality called San Vittore ; but the Capodis- trian tradition as to Vittore's birthplace is erroneous, since he was born at Venice of a family of Mazzorbo, record of which has been found by Signor Molmenti. Lazzaro Sebastiani is also claimed as Capodistrian, and memorials of two other painters exist, Cleriginus de Justinopoli, who was living in 1471, and Giorgio Vin- centi. A Mag. Domenico di Capodistria began the pretty octagonal chapel at Vicovaro above Tivoli.
In the choir of the church of Santa Anna is a picture by Cima da Conegliano in the original frame made by Vittore da Feltre. In the central arched compartment the Virgin sits enthroned with the Child on her knees and angels at her sides ; on the steps below are two child angels with mandoline and fiddle. The lower range of panels has full-length figures of SS. Anna, Mary Mag- dalene, Joachim, and Catherine. In the upper are half-lengths of SS. Chiara, Francis, Jerome, and Nazario, with Christ between SS. Peter and Andrew in the centre. It has been restored. There is also an altar-frontal of cut and gilded leather.
The lions from the ancient cathedral doors are now in the atrium of the high-school. The ancient baptis- tery is close to the north side of the cathedral ; it has suffered Renaissance alteration inside, but outside still shows the early arrangement of pilaster-strips and corbel-tables. It is circular in plan, and has several round-headed, unmoulded windows built up, as well as a pointed-arched door with fourteenth-century shields in the tympanum.
In the large piazza which stretches to the south-east of the cathedral are two well-heads and the " fontico n or place where corn was sold cheaply to the poor, a building of 1432, restored in 1529, plentifully studded
MEDIAEVAL AND RENAISSANCE OBJECTS 91
with coats of arms. Opposite the Palazzo Comunale^is the Loggia, now a cafe, built in 1464 for a literary academy. It has seven pointed and traceried arches in front and two at the side, a Madonna and Child decorates the south-west angle, and coats of arms are between the windows of the upper story. Here the Compagnia della Calza was insti- tuted in 1478 in imita- tion of that of Venice. A few houses have remains of late Gothic painting, and in others something of the mediaeval arrangement may still be seen. Upon the Palazzo Tacco is a very beautiful knocker, ascribed to Sansovino, now happily the pro- perty of the commune ; and the Casa del Bello has a fine negro's head as handle, rather worn by use, and an elaborate knocker, probably of German work. The Casa Borisi also has a handle with the head and shoulders of a child emergent from leaves, and a knocker of similar design.
In the cathedral treasury is a late fifteenth-century silver-gilt chalice with elaborately worked knop and stem ; on the knop are saints under canopies, and angels with outspread wings emerge from scroll-work
KNOCKER ON PALAZZO TACCO, CAPODISTRIA
92 MUGGIA TO PIRANO
round the base of the cup. Also a monstrance of the same period with very elaborate and beautiful archi- tectural ornament and figures of angels in adoration. In two elaborate silver-gilt crosses of the sixteenth century there is a curious mixture of Gothic and Renais- sance details.
There is also a Byzantine civil casket at Capodistria, with traces of ancient gilding upon it. It has the usual rosettes in the borders, and small plaques with figure subjects. On the front there are three gods and goddesses, separated by a repetition of the border pattern. The handle and fastenings are later in date.
Just inside the Porta della Muda is the Piazza da Ponte, so called after the Podesta Lorenzo da Ponte, who in 1666 had the very curious fountain erected, in which he imagined a further memorial of himself by the pun- ning design of the bridge, so unsuitable for its position. In front of the Palazzo Tacco is a column with a statue of S. Giustina, set up to commemorate the battle of Lepanto, at which Domenico di Tacco commanded a ship fitted out at his own expense.
In the churches on Good Friday a crucifix was laid on the chancel steps. Women and children knelt round and kissed it. In one or two of them a dead Christ, life-size and painted, was exhibited behind glass. There was also the " tomba," a custom to which one is used in Italy. A few men joined in the devotion. The Good Friday procession is over half a mile long, and takes two hours to get round the town, starting from the cathedral west door at twilight. It is formed in great part of the ancient confraternities (among which that of S. Maria is mentioned as early as 1082), who carry some 200 imple- ments and standards, torches, candelabra, wax tapers, figures of saints, and lanterns. At the end of the pro- cession a rich baldacchino is borne aloft above the priest who carries the Host. " Mazzieri " (from the mace
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PIRANO 93
which they carry as sign of authority) keep order. Other processions by daylight take place on Corpus Domini and S. Nazario (June 19). The people have always been fond of such displays, and till the seventeenth century there was a great function at the departure of the rector, who was solemnly bidden farewell by one of the syndics or nobles in the cathedral. These Istrian coast towns have always shown enlightenment in the matter of education. In 1699 a school was opened in Capodistria for the sons of citizens and patricians, in which Latin, Greek, Italian, mathematics, rhetoric, and physics were taught. And, in order that poor and talented young men should not be cut off from the possibility of learn- ing, this town, and, after its example, Isola, Muggia, Parenzo, Pola, and Trieste established scholarships at the University of Padua, where Istrian professors be- came rectors. But, even in the fourteenth century, there were already school teachers in Pirano, Muggia, and Capodistria.
It is Pirano on its headland, with the cathedral standing out against the sea, and with its crown of battlemented towers among cypresses and other trees which terminates the land as seen from the railway descending from Nabresina to Trieste ; for, though the Point of Salvore stretches actually farther out, it is low, and does not catch the eye as Pirano does, especially when its characteristic silhouette is empha- sised by the blue shadow of a passing cloud. The head- land upon which the cathedral is built, with its arched buttresses below, hides the town, except for the forti- fied cresting high above the trees ; but, when the point is rounded and the harbour entered, one is tempted to assert that there are few places so picturesque. The quays are crowded with fishing-boats, which are backed by the brilliantly white buildings. The green water reflects boats, buildings, and sky with a bewildering
94 MUGGIA TO PIRANO
flashing and mingling of varied colours ; while, above the houses of the Piazza Tartini, other houses and towers climb to the battlemented walls which crown the hill above a space filled with the grey of olives and green of the grass beneath them. Within the town the streets are narrow and often arched over, producing striking effects of light and shade ; and there are external stairs to some of the houses and many balconies.
It is an ancient town, and may have been founded by Celtic immigrants, since the word " pyrn " (a possible derivation for its name) means " top of the hill " in Celtic. It certainly was inhabited in Roman times, for the foundations of a Roman house have been found, as well as inscriptions, bronzes, and other objects now pre- served in the museums of Trieste, Parenzo, and Pola. The names of a good many places near are of Roman derivation, but the first definite mention of Pirano is made by the anonymous Ravennese chronicler. In the tenth century the Istrians attacked the possessions of the Patriarch of Grado and of Venice, under the Marquis Winter, who governed for Ugo, king of Italy. The doge retaliated by prohibiting all commerce with Pirano, Trieste, Muggia, Capodistria, Cittanova, and Pola, and this soon brought them to their knees, finally resulting in the treaty of 933.
A castle, the residence of the count or burgrave, was built nearly opposite the cathedral, with a wall falling sheer to the sea; this wall was still in existence in 1483, and was seen by Sanudo, but it was destroyed soon after. Venice gradually laid a heavier hand on this part of the eastern shore of the Adriatic, and, though the citizens struggled to retain their independ- ence, the year 1283 saw the dedition of Pirano. Yet it always retained the right of displaying its own standard of S. George in the Piazza by the side of that of S. Mark. The existing bases for the support of these standards
MEDIEVAL WALLS 95
date from 1464 and 1466, and bear the figure of S. George on one, and S. Mark's lion on the other, with the arms of the podestas who ruled in those years. On the base of the Venetian standard the measures of length then in use are engraved. The standards for measures of capacity were three hollows sunk in a stone which once stood at the foot of the stair of the com- munal palace. This palace was demolished in 1877. It was a building erected in 1291, outside the circuit of the walls as it then existed, " to show that a new spirit ought to animate the citizens to forget their ancient divi- sions/ ' as a chronicler says. From 1264 Venice practi- cally had control of the government, being the principal customer for the salt, which was (and is still) the chief product of the place.
The city is an irregular triangle in plan, and is divided into four sections, known as " Porte " — Porta Muggia, Porta Domo, Porta Misana, and Porta Campo. Walls enclosed each of these sections, which were thrown down by Venice at the same time that many of the nobles' towers were destroyed ; but some portions remain here and there, utilised for the erection of later houses. Round the " Punta," the most ancient part of the city, are remains of early walls, thought to be late Roman. The Venetians allowed only one wall for protection, and the present towered portion, so con- spicuous along the crest of the hill, was finished in 1488. The suburb, the Borgo Marzana, which stretched along the shore, was also enclosed within their circuit by 1533. They recall those of Soave and Marostica in North Italy, where the houses cluster round the piazza below, and the hillside is covered with olives, through and above which the line of battlements may be traced high above the tops of the campanili. The harbour was once larger than it now is, the Piazza Tartini occupying the site of part of it. In 1320 the Venetians sent three engineers
96 MUGGIA TO PIRANO
to construct a port, but all that was done was to strengthen the inner harbour as then existing. The chain which closed it was replaced by a drawbridge in 1578, shown in a picture in the cathedral, but this was demolished in 1894.
In 1379 the Genoese fleet of fifteen galleys demanded the surrender of Pirano. Reply was made with cannon- shots which sank three large ships, and the others sailed away. It was the only Istrian city which thus repelled the Genoese attack, and the incident is also interesting as showing that the Venetians used bombards before the war of Chioggia.
The statute is more ancient than those of most of the neighbouring cities, and gives curious details as to pains and penalties and municipal regulations. The penalty for mutilation was a corresponding mutilation unless the fine prescribed was paid. The making of false money was punished with death. The false wit- ness, if insolvent, lost his right nostril, and his name was published as a perjurer on the stair of the communal palace. He who destroyed the property of another lost his right hand. But there was ho public executioner ; and there are many records of the flight of guilty persons, though an intention to make " the punishment fit the crime " is evident. No one was allowed to build a house close to the walls, and thatch was forbidden. A blas- phemer was pilloried for a day (a list of illegal words and phrases is attached to this section). Workmen were forbidden to receive more than the wage prescribed, butchers had to accept the price fixed for meat by the justices, and the times and places for fishing were specified. The commune had an inn " let to an honest man," with six good beds, which he had to provide. No one else was allowed to let rooms till 1469, when the payment of a tax of three ducats a year entitled the payer to a license. In 1484 interest on loans was fixed
FESTIVALS AND FUNERALS 97
at 20 per cent., and Jews were allowed to charge no more. This people enjoyed considerable liberties, as in Venice, and corresponding concessions were made to them. With the establishment of a " Monte di Pieta " their occupation was gone, and they migrated to Trieste. The commune paid a chief bombardier, a captain of ordnance, a palace chaplain, two doctors and a surgeon, a canon of the Community, a master of arithmetic, a professor of humanities and rhetoric, and a preacher for Lent.
An academy, called " Dei Virtuosi," was also sus- tained at the public expense, and by it public festivals were organised, with the accompaniment of decorations and music, &c. The festival of Corpus Domini is still celebrated with the hanging of cloths and paintings on the walls of the houses, and with stretching awnings, like the Florentine mediaeval " cieli," across the streets, which are strewn with flowers and ornamented with altars and fountains. Processions also still accompany funerals and marriages, when garlands, flowers, and confetti are thrown upon the cortege as it passes. The banner and pall are black, with white embroidery, and the members of a red-clothed confraternity attend the funerals, bearing a crucifix and tapers. Many of them are quite old men, and they raise a quavering chant as they climb the steep ascent to the cathedral, which is a late Renaissance building, and not interesting, though finely placed. The campanile is an evident copy of that of S. Mark at Venice.
In 1572, under an altar in the cathedral, a fine Byzantine civil casket of ivory was found. Presented in 1884 to the Emperor by the municipality, it is now in the Court museum at Vienna. It has a sliding lid, the usual borders of rosettes, and long panels of subjects imitated from the antique. In the library above the sacristy are several early paintings in carved and gilt frames. The most important represents a long arcade
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with four saints on each side of a broader central panel, on which are the Virgin and Child enthroned. The figures have small heads and meagre limbs. There is also a Crucifixion, which, from its shape, was probably the top panel of a large picture in compartments. These are of the fourteenth century. A later example shows four saints in trefoil-headed panels, with a cornice above, composed of a seriesof shell-headed tops of niches. These originally formed the doors of a cupboard. There are also said to be a psalter and antiphonary of the four- teenth century, and a Bull of Urban V. relating to the Crusades of 1365. The ancient baptistery stood opposite the cathedral, if one may trust the views in Carpaccio's picture, and in one by Domenico Tintoretto in the town- hall. The modern one is on the slope of the hill, just below the campanile. It contains an early rectangular font. On the side facing the door is a carving similar to that on the font at Venzone — a naked youth astride of a sea-monster, said to typify the control of the bodily appetites by the reason. The other sides are much damaged.
The other important church is that of S. Francesco, which has a good early Renaissance doorway and a cloister, some seventeenth-century carved chairs, several Venetian pictures, and an early altar-piece. On the facade a curious inscription is set in the wall, which states that the church was dedicated onS. Mark's Eve, 1344, and that seven altars were then consecrated by seven bishops — nine being mentioned, however — Justinoplensis (Capodistria), Enonensis (Cittanova), Parentinus, Polensis, Petenesinus (Pisino), Capiolensis, Evelinensis (Buie), Domatensis, Soaralensis. The lion of the church is, however, the fine Carpaccio in the chapel to the left at the bottom of the nave, dated 1518, and signed " Victoris Charpatii Veneti opus," considered by some his best work. It represents the Virgin seated,
PICTURES BY THE TWO CARPACCIOS 99
and holding the Child to her breast. He has two cherries in His left hand ; to His right are three saints — S. Francis with a cross, S. George, and S. Louis of Toulouse ; to the left, S. Anthony, Santa Chiara, and S. Louis of France. At the feet of the Virgin are two angels with lute and violin on each side of a pot of lilies ; a pillared hall, with a view of Pirano in the distance, forms the background. The chapel has pilasters with very beautiful arabesques. The design of the architec- ture and of the picture agrees perfectly, and it is evident that it was intended that the painted architecture should continue the effect of perspective, which com- mences with the reality of carved and built-up marble.
In the office of the salt-works is a picture by Car- paccio's son Benedetto, signed and dated 1541, which came from S. Lucia di Val di Fasano. It shows the Virgin seated with the Child in a little shirt, in the act of blessing. On the left is S. Lucy, on the right S. George standing, with their heads on the same level as the Virgin, and therefore on a smaller scale. The throne has a very shallow step. The figure of S. George is a repetition of that by Benedetto's father in S. Francesco.
In the PiazzaTartini, near a fourteenth-century house of Venetian Gothic, once the palace of the family of del Bello, is a modern statue of Tartini the violinist (1692- 1770), who here commenced the study of music, which led him to extraordinary executive triumphs and the production of the celebrated " Trillo del diavolo."
Outside the walls, on the road to Porto Rose, are the ruins of the monastery of S. Bernardino, founded in 1450 by S. Giovanni da Capistrano, to whom the ruined convent on the island opposite Rovigno is also due. It once possessed a Vivarini, a Madonna with a sleeping Child, which was sent to Vienna in 1803. In the church of S. George is a fragment of a carved stall with a figure of the saint, which should be mentioned.
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The town of Salvore seems to "have been under the jurisdiction of Pirano, and the commune held a fair there on S. John the Baptist's Day, to celebrate the naval battle in 1177, in which Frederick Barbarossa was con- quered in the deep bay between it and Pirano. The jousts, boat-races, and hunts which were held then and on the feasts of Pentecost and S. Orligo were so sump- tuous that the provveditore limited the expenditure.
The last boat for Trieste left Pirano at 1.30 p.m., an hour so ridiculously early, that we determined to walk to Isola and proceed thence by train. We started off bravely up the steep road which led to the fifteenth-cen- tury Porta di Raspo, obtaining fine views down the alleys and through garden doors as we ascended the hill. High above our heads the battlements towered, and as we approached the walls we realised what a business it must have been to attack a town so protected before the invention of gunpowder. Soon the road bent away to the right, which was not the direction in which we wished to go, but a path led to some brick-works, and there we found an idle workman, who advised us to go along the shore as being much shorter. So we plunged and slid about among rocks of a considerable size, and skirted the base of slippery cliffs, and ploughed through sand and shingle for some miles, rejoicing when we met the road again in a flat piece of land where there were salt- pans. From this point it made a long sweep inland and then rose in wide curves up the shoulder of a hill which divided us from Isola. Here we saw a train draw up to take on board two gentlemen and a little boy ; there was no sign of station or halting-place, and we wondered whether all that was necessary was to stand by the line and wave one's hand to the driver in order to be taken up ! A stony path led us to the summit — another short cut, which happily called for less exertion than our pre- vious jaunt along the shore — and a charming view amply
ISOLA 101
repaid us for our labours. In the foreground the stony path dropped between steep banks, the soil being oc- cupied by vines and olives, with a little shrine perched on one of the banks. In the middle distance Isola lay like a jewel upon the sea, opalescent with delicate blue shadows and the indescribable tints of grey stone build- ings at a distance in sunlight ; with the campanile crowning the slight elevation of the clustered houses. Beyond were the horns of the Bay of Capodistria and the highlands of the Julian Alps, blue in the shadow of the declining sun. A few lighter houses scattered along the peninsula served to soften the transition from the grey town to the green country.
The town is at least as old as the beginning of the eleventh century, for in 1041 it was ceded to the monas- tery of Aquileia ; at this time it was probably unwalled, for in 1 1 65 the Abbess Valpert a allowed the inhabitants to remove to Monte Albuciano and build fresh houses there, as they did not feel secure. After the dedition to Venice in 1280 it was strengthened; but that did not pre- vent a body of the patriarch's troops scaling the walls and taking it on August 25, 1379, to be driven out a few days after by the podestas of Capodistria, Pirano, and Umago. Since 1411 it has been joined to the Capo- distria road by a bridge, and no one would now sup- pose that it was originally — as its name denotes — an island. Nine square towers defended the walls, and the principal gate was protected by a barbican. The ditch was so useful to the people in peaceful times that the commune threatened with severe penalties those who went by night to deposit in it the refuse of their houses and stables. No trace of these works now remains.
The Colleggiata is a late Renaissance building, but contains some interesting things, including a picture by Girolamo Santa Croce of the Madonna enthroned, with SS. Nicholas and Joseph, and a child angel with a
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violin on the plinth, signed and dated 1537, but re- stored. The treasury contains a fine monstrance of silver, Gothic in design, with bands of pierced work and tabernacles at the sides on twisted columns. It has a spire-like top with windows and pinnacles be- tween round its base, a feature which is repeated on the knop. In the seventeenth century several figures were added or replaced and the stem repaired. The Scuola dei Battuti, built in 1451, has a door with a frescoed tympanum beneath a pointed arch on brackets, a good deal weather-worn — Madonna sheltering the penitents beneath her cloak — and pretty arabesque scrolls on the soffit.
Isola is delightful from outside ; but inside there is much dirt, and little food for the traveller. All that we could obtain was bread and rough red wine. While waiting for the train, as the sun set and twilight fell, we saw many of the contadini returning from their work, most of them on donkeys or ponies — a father with a little son before or behind him, a man in a black cloak with panniers laden with branches of trees, which hid the saddle, and, in the semi-obscurity, made them look like some monstrous beast of strange form, another perched upon a great bundle of hay or grass, and so on, all passing rapidly from the malaria of the fields to the safety of the malodorous town.
It reminded one of the return of the townspeople within the walls at nightfall necessitated by the medi- aeval custom of closing the gates an hour after " Ave Maria,' ' after which none could enter or leave the cities ; and how the lamps of the shrines were the only illumina- tion of the streets, about which none were allowed to go without carrying a light.
In the train we had as fellow traveller an engineer who spoke English well. He said that all over Istria nothing could be obtained to eat (except, of course, in
DRAWBACKS 103
the more important towns). He had been constructing a new line near Divaca, where nothing was obtainable, and he and his companions had been obliged to take a cook and all supplies with them. He appeared to have a very bad opinion of the Triestines, whom he character- ised as drunken swine, which we had not observed our- selves. He said that beer was too dear for the majority, so they got drunk on black wine and brandy — a state- ment which sounded strange to our English ears. The smaller boats, being for the use of the country people, are very inconvenient for tourists, since they generally start so as to arrive at Trieste early in the day, thus allowing of return the same night with the purchases made. Baedeker advises an excursion to Muggia and on to Capodistria and Isola and Pirano, " returning by boat in the evening " ; but the last boat from Pirano leaves at 1.30 p.m., and the last one from Capodistria at 4.0 (by which, by-the-bye, we paid twice as much as we paid for the same journey in the morning), and after that the traveller is dependent upon the little railway, which lands him in Trieste after 10.0 p.m., at the S. Andrea Station, rather late to obtain a meal.
VIII
UMAGO TO PARENZO
The next place along the coast, after passing the Pro- montory of Salvore and turning south, is Umago. It is sheltered behind a shoal, upon which the Chronicles say that the ship laden with the relics of S. Mark struck during a storm on its way to Venice. It was given as a feud to the bishop of Trieste in 929, at Pavia, by Ugo of Provence, king of Italy, and to the bishop of Citta- nova in 1029 or 103& by the Emperor Conrad. It had been sacked by the Slavs of Croatia and Dalmatia in 876, at the same time with Cittanova, Rovigno, and Sipar (at which last place very early wall-paintings are said to exist). It swore fealty to Venice in 1269 ; but very little is known of its history, the English appar- ently having burnt the archives in the piazza early in the nineteenth century. At that period no one seems to have thought that such things could be of any value ; indeed at Portole, about 1850, the podesta actually sold all the communal deeds to the grocer of the place, thinking them useless rubbish, and at Cittanova the parchments were used by the citizens to mend windows ! Cittanova lies at the mouth of the Quieto valley which, commencing at Pinguente, passes Montona on its isolated hill (visible from the coast like lofty Buie), and terminates in a marsh seven or eight miles long. The mouth is known as Porto Torre, from a little place on the Parenzo side of the river. The city was a Roman
104
CITTANOVA 105
colony with the name ^Emonia, and the seat of an early Istrian bishop. A few years ago some seventy carved slabs of the eighth or ninth century were discovered face downwards in the pavement of the crypt of the basilica, which appear to have belonged to the font and choir enclosure. Among them are several archivolt pieces, very much like those of the font of Calixtus at Cividale, which show by a mutilated inscription that they were due to Bishop Maurizio, apparently a bishop suspected of being on the side of the Franks, and therefore blinded by the Byzantines in 781. The slabs are all of Istrian stone, except one, which is of marble, and the carvings therefore may possibly to some extent be of local workmanship, though we know that Comacines from Cividale were employed in Croatia. They have the characteristic Lombard furrows and interweavings, and other details met with in different parts of Italy. There are no mouldings, but a slight bead and reel along the interior edge of the arches. One slab shows two birds drinking from a vase in the upper part, and, below, two others apparently going to divide a fish — at each side vine scrolls springing from vases ; another is carved with figures of griffins. There are two window-slabs with pierced patterns : one has simple rhomboidal forms ; the other a central stem, with curling branches terminating in trefoils of much more ad- vanced type, suggesting the panels in the later tomb of the Dogaressa Michieli in the atrium of S. Mark's, Venice. The basilica was restored in 1409-1414, and in the sixteenth century, with the assistance of Venice, at i which time the baldacchino was destroyed. The church stands on the edge of the land, and has a small round-arched arcade on the facade divided by the door- way, which is covered with a pointed hood on brackets. In the gable is an oculus. The campanile resembles S. Mark's, Venice, as is usual. Within, a Venetian Ma-
14
106 UMAGO TO PARENZO
donna and Child is preserved, Mantegnesque in style, and therefore ascribed to Mantegna or John Bellini. In the eighteenth century a picture by the latter was sent to Venice to be restored, and, if this is the picture, the restoration was very thorough. The baptistery, destroyed in 1780, had a vestibule like that at Concordia. It was octagonal, with four little round- headed windows, and the hexagonal font was built up from the floor, the rim being level with the top- .most of the three steps which surrounded the building. Three steps also descended into it.
The city swore fealty to Venice in 1270. It still retains a portion of its ancient battlemented walls, which have a curious feature — a projecting spur, which runs out into the sea a long way, and was probably intended to make the sea-front secure at low water. The commune was very zealous in its preparations for war, and, according to the statute, a citizen who wounded or killed a spectator during military evolu- tions or practice was able to secure immunity from punishment !
In 1466 the see was divided from the patriarchate of Venice by Paul II., Francesco Contarini being made bishop, and was enriched by the gift of the property of the suppressed bishopric of Equilium. Fifty years before leave was granted to the then bishop to sell wine grown in his vineyards outside the territory.
IX
PARENZO
The next town along the coast, Parenzo, is celebrated for its fine sixth-century cathedral, the pride of the whole of Istria " the land of basilicas/ ' and is the head- quarters of the Istrian Archaeological Society, several of whose members have devoted much time and money to the elucidation of the history, construction, and decora- tion of the building.
The excavations undertaken by the late Monsignore P. Deperis, Parroco Decano, showed that there have been four main epochs of construction, as well as restora- tions and embellishments : (i) Roman, or Early Chris- tian, (2) Byzantine, (3) Gothic, and (4) Modern. There was a primitive Christian basilica to the north of the present one ; and Euphrasius, in the sixth century, built his church upon the foundations of a second, which had succeeded it. The site of the first was used as a ceme- tery till the end of the eighteenth century, and was then made into the garden of the bishop's palace. It was oblong in shape, like the most ancient Christian churches, and had no apse, being 75 ft. 6 in. long and 55 ft. 9 in. wide. It had one main door of entrance, and the altar was at the eastern end of the northern portion. The pavement is 5 ft. 9 in. below the level of the basilica of Euphrasius. In the south wall of the portion first discovered (one half of the total area) a door, the cill of which is still preserved, led to an oratory. On the
107
108 PARENZO
mosaic pavement is this inscription in black letters on a white ground :
[Lu]picinvs
[et PaJscASiA
[cum r]EVERENTiA FA[mula]
FE[cerunt pedes] c[entum].
The remains of this pavement are good in design and execution, and the colours are well distributed. The nave was surrounded by a broad white band, within which was another still broader, sown with starred crosses. The panels with subjects were also surrounded by a similar band. In the first panel from the door is a crown formed of a triple row of leaves within a double circle ; the outer one has an octagon formed of me- anders, and the inner a circular treatment of the same kind. Outside are lilies and other flowers within geo- metrical forms, and the whole is bordered with inter- laced lines. In the small circle is a portion of an inscription, the right part of which has been destroyed by a tomb :
iNFAN[tius] - et iNNOc[entia] ex svo p[alatio] BASi[licam et]
TEs[sellati] p[edes].
The middle panel is square ; within it is a handled crater with a high foot. Two branches spring from it, which are bursting into flowers and leaves ; they fill the whole space with their convolutions. At the top is an inscription :
[Lu]picinvs et pascasia p[edes] cccc F[ecerunt] ; and at the bottom another :
clamosvs mag pver et svccessa p[edes] c[entum] felicissimvs cvm svis p[edes] c[entum].
THE EARLIEST CHURCH 109
This inscription is interesting as showing that there
SEslgaaBi — mEa&BBd 1
^^S.SSVV-v-^^qp;
M J I 1 I 'i »
ca. 2? basilvca. Of>«rua$s ftlUd u|k.
PLAN OF THE THREE BASILICAS, PARENZO
was a school attached to the basilica before the fourth century. The third panel surrounded the altar, the
no PARENZO
rectangle of which is marked by the sunken places in the marble slab where the columns stood. A piece of marble of the same size as the sinkings was found not far away. At the right is a square of about 3 ft. 3 in., with a framing of white bands and triangles of colour 10 in. broad, reducing the internal square to 19 in. In the centre is a portion of a cross based on the swa- stika, and a fish. On the left a cross, formed by the intersection of two oval rings, appears above the fish. These symbolic crosses point to a very early date. The doorstep of the oratory shows signs of considerable wear, and the mosaic has been roughly repaired near the word picinvs. The fishes are apparently insertions, later in date than the original mosaic (which has the structural characteristics of the second century). This suggests that the first basilica may have been a portion of the house of a Christian of position, of which ex- amples occur in Rome. It was probably burnt when Diocletian ordered the destruction of all Christian churches in 303 a.d., since charcoal was found amongst the masonry. The pavement, much broken up by tombs and by the old cistern constructed in the garden, extended under the north aisle of the present building ; and the site of the altar is shown by lifting a trap-door in the chapel in the north arm of the cross, for the present basilica was made cruciform in plan ini.846-1847, by the erection of two chapels. The mosaics found in the garden have been completely excavated ; they are covered over with glazed