Part 63

The church of **=San Marco= (Pl. H, 5), which is said to contain the bones of St. Mark, was begun in 830, rebuilt after a fire in 976, and restored after the middle of the 11th cent. in the Byzantine style. The ground-plan (83½ yds. long, 56¾ yds. broad in front) is in the form of a Greek cross (with equal arms), crowned with five domes. The front arm of the cross is flanked with a colonnade. Outside and inside the church is adorned with over five hundred marble columns, mostly Oriental, and with mosaics, chiefly of the 10–16th centuries. The Gothic additions to the façade (15th cent.) enhance its fantastic charm. Over the main portal are four antique bronze-gilt horses from Constantinople.

The INTERIOR is wonderfully impressive. The beauty of the outlines and the magnificence of the decoration are equally striking. The priceless _Pala d’Oro_, which forms the altar-piece, from Constantinople (1105), is shown on week-days (11–2; ticket, 50 c., admits also to the _Tesoro_ in the right transept, 11–2).

Adjoining the Piazza of St. Mark, on the side next the lagoon, is the *=Piazzetta= (Pl. H, 5, 6). The *_Librería Vecchia_, or old library, now part of the royal palace (see above), by Jac. Sansovino (1536–53), is one of the most beautiful secular buildings in Italy. The adjacent _Zecca_ (mint) now contains the famous library of San Marco. On the opposite (E.) side of the square rises the—

**=Doges’ Palace= (_Palazzo Ducale_; Pl. H, 5), which is said to have been founded in 814 as the residence of the first doge. It was rebuilt after the fires of 976 and 1105, and has since been repeatedly restored and altered. The Gothic exterior is flanked with two superb arcades with pointed arches; the W. front dates from 1423–8; the S. front, next the lagoon, is of the 14th century.

The _Porta della Carta_, the late-Gothic chief portal, next to the church, leads into the quadrangle of the palace, where the façades, though still partly Gothic, show the influence of the new Renaissance style. In the interior (adm., see p. 420) we visit the central and upper floors, containing the state-apartments which were redecorated after the fires of 1574 and 1577, a brilliant example of the Venetian late-Renaissance and rococo art. The countless pictures by Titian, Paolo Veronese, Jac. Tintoretto, and other masters, proclaim the ancient glory of Venice. (Guide unnecessary. Catalogues for public use on week-days.) The groundfloor contains the _Archaeological Museum_ (antiques, Renaissance sculptures, etc.).

At the E. end of the Molo (p. 422) the _Ponte della Paglia_ (Pl. H, 5, 6), which crosses the _Rio di Palazzo_, affords a good view of the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ (_Ponte dei Sospiri_; Pl. H, 5), specially interesting to readers of Childe Harold. The latter bridge connects the Doges’ Palace with the _Prigioni di San Marco_.

The contiguous =Riva degli Schiavoni= (Pl. H, I, 5; ‘quay of the Slavonians’) forms the sunniest promenade in the town. To the left, nearly opposite the _Monument of Victor Emmanuel II._, a narrow lane leads to the church of _San Zaccaria_ (Pl. H, I, 5; adm. in the afternoon 50 c.), built in 1458–1515. Over the second altar on the left is a Madonna by Giov. Bellini (1505).

A few paces to the W. of the church is Campo San Provolo. The street of that name to the right, the first bridge to the left, and then the Calle Corte Rotta and the Ruga Giuffa (Pl. H, 5) lead to _Santa Maria Formosa_ (Pl. H, 4; knock at W. portal; gratuity 25–30 c.), with the famous *St. Barbara by Palma Vecchio.

From the Campo Santa Maria Formosa we follow the Calle Lunga to the E., and near the end of it the Calle Bragadin to the left (N.) to the—

Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, with the *_Monument of Colleoni_ (Venetian condottiere, d. 1475), the grandest equestrian statue of the Italian Renaissance, by the Florentine Andrea Verrocchio.

The church of *_Santi Giovanni e Paolo_ (Pl. H, 4; adm. see p. 420), once the church of the Dominicans and the burial-church of the doges, erected in the Gothic style in 1330–90, is quite a museum of Venetian sculpture. The finest monument is that of Andrea Vendramin (d. 1478; in the choir, on the left), by Tullio and Ant. Lombardi and Al. Leopardi.

On the S. side of the _Canale di San Marco_ (p. 421), reached by ferry from the Molo (‘traghetto’, 1–2 pers. 15, 3–4 pers. 20, 5–6 pers. 30 c.), or more quickly by steamer from the Riva degli Schiavoni (see p. 419), are the island and the Benedictine church of =San Giorgio Maggiore= (Pl. H, 7; if closed, ring on the right), built by Palladio (1565) and Ant. Palliari. The _Campanile_, 197 ft. high (ascent to the left of the choir; easy wooden stairs), offers a superb **View of the city, the lagoons, and the sea, embracing in clear weather the Alpine chain far away to the N. (finest in the early morning or just before sunset).

The =Lido=, the most fashionable sea-bathing place in Italy (height of season July and Aug.), is reached either by the direct steamers or by those coming from the railway-station (p. 419, 420). An electric tramway connects the pier with the _Bath Establishment_ (café-restaurant) and with the large hotels on the shore.—See also _Baedeker’s Northern Italy_.

* * * * *

=Trieste.=—=Railway Stations=, 1. _Stazione Meridionale_ (S. Station; Pl. B, C, 2; buffet), 10 min. to the N. of the Piazza della Borsa, for Vienna, Abbazia and Fiume, and Cervignano (Venice).—2. _Stazione dello Stato_ or _di Sant’ Andrea_ (State Railway Station; Pl. A, 6), at the S. end of the Old Harbour (p. 426), 15 min. to the S.W. of the Piazza della Borsa, for the Tauern Railway, and for Assling and Vienna. Cabs, see below; hotel-omnibus 1 _K_.

=Arrival by Sea.= The _Austrian Lloyd_ steamers anchor in the New Harbour (p. 426), at Moles I-III, near the Dogana (Pl. B, 2, 3) and the S. Station, or at the Molo San Carlo (Pl. B, 4; excursion-steamer ‘Thalia’).

=Hotels.= GRAND-HÔTEL, Riva dei Mandracchio, adjoining the Lloyd Palace (p. 426), a first-class house, to be opened in 1911; HÔT. DE LA VILLE (Pl. a; C, 4), Riva Carciotti, with first-class restaurant, high charges, variously judged; HÔT. VOLPICH ALL’ AQUILA NERA (Pl. d; C, 4), with good café-restaurant, R. 3–8 _K_, B. 1 _K_ 20 _h_, D. 3 _K_, HÔT. TONIATO (Pl. h; C, 4), R. 3–10 _K_, both Via San Nicolò, good; HÔT. BALKAN (Pl. c; C, 3), Piazza della Caserma, R. from 3 _K_, B. 70 _h_, D. 2 _K_ 80 _h_; HÔT. VANOLI (Pl. k; B, 4, 5), Piazza Grande 2; HÔT. DELORME (Pl. b; C, 4), Via del Teatro 5; HÔT. CENTRAL (Pl. f; C, 4), Via San Nicolò 15, R. from 2 _K_ 50–4 _K_ 50 _h_, B. 1 _K_ 20 _h_.

=Cafés.= _Caffè degli Specchi_, _Caffè al Municipio_ (in the town-hall), _Orientale_ (in the Lloyd Palace), all in Piazza Grande; _Stazione_, Piazza della Stazione.

=Restaurants= at the hotels. Also, _Restaurant Dreher_, Via della Cassa di Risparmio (Pl. C, 4), near the Old Exchange (p. 426); _La Cooperativa_, Piazza San Giovanni 5 (Pl. D, 3, 4).

=Cabs.= From or to the stations 1 _K_ 60 _h_ (9 p.m. to 6 a.m. t2 _K_); in the inner town per drive with one horse 1 _K_ (at night 1 _K_ 20 _h_), farther out 1 _K_ 40 or 1 _K_ 60 _h_; by time: ½ hr. 1 _K_ 20 _h_, at night 1 _K_ 60 _h_, ¾ hr. 1 _K_ 60 or 2 _K_ 20 _h_, 1 hr. 2 _K_ or 2 _K_ 80 _h_, each ¼ hr. more 50 or 60 _h_ (with pair, 1 _K_ 40 or 1 _K_ 60 _h_; 2 _K_ 20 or 2 _K_ 40 _h_; 2 _K_ 80 or 3 _K_ 20 _h_; 70 or 80 _h_). Trunk 50 _h_; small articles carried inside free, outside 20 _h_.

=Tramways= from the Boschetto (beyond Pl. E, 2) viâ the Piazza della Borsa and Passeggio di Sant’ Andrea (p. 427) to _Servola_ (p. 427); from the S. Station to _Barcola_ (p. 427), etc.—ELECTRIC HILL-TRAMWAY (views on left, best to sit backward), from the Piazza della Caserma (Pl. C, D, 3) viâ (2½ M.) _Obelisco_ (80 _h_) in ½ hr. to (3¾ M.) the rail, station of _Opčina_ (p. 427; 1 M. to the S.W. from the S. Station).

=Motor Omnibus= in the forenoon, on week-days only, every hour to _Miramar_ (p. 427; return-fare 3 _K_).

=Steamboat Lines.= _Austrian Lloyd_ (offices in Lloyd Palace, Pl. B, 4) to Venice (daily in summer, in 4–6½ hrs.; in winter Tues., Thurs., Sat., returning Mon., Wed., and Frid.); quick boats to Alexandria; other lines to Syria and to Port Said (comp. p. 418); quick boats to the Piræus (for Athens) and Constantinople (R. 78), etc.; _Cunard Line_ (agents, Schröder & Co.), viâ Fiume, Palermo, Naples, and Gibraltar to New York (R. 16); _Austro-American Line_ (office Via Molin Piccolo 2) to Buenos Ayres, to Almeria, Cadiz, and Las Palmas, to New York, and to Patras (R. 78) and Palermo; _German Levant Line_ to Tunis, Algiers, and Oran; _Hungarian-Croatian Co._ (agent, Maule, Riva dei Pescatori 16) and _Croatian Steamboat Co._ to Fiume.—LOCAL STEAMERS (from Molo San Carlo, Pl. B, 4) to Barcola (p. 427), half-hourly in summer, and to Miramar (p. 427) twice daily.

=Post & Telegraph Office= (Pl. 12; C, 3), Piazza delle Poste.

=Consuls.= British Consul-General, _J. B. Spence_; vice-consul, _N. Salvary_.—United States Consul, _M. G. Hotschick_; vice-consul _O. Demartini_.—LLOYD’S AGENT, _R. Greenham_, Via San Lazzaro 15.

=English Church Services=, in the Via San Michele 1714, every Sun. at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

_Trieste_ (pop. 221,000, Italians, Slovenians, and Germans; in 1758 about 6400 only), the Roman _Tergeste_, the chief seaport of Austria and in the E. Mediterranean, lies on the E. shore of the _Bay of Trieste_, at the head of the Adriatic and at the foot of the _Karst_ or _Carso Plateau_ (1945 ft.), which is often visited by N.E. gales (Bora). Having become the heiress of Venice Trieste was a free harbour from 1719 to 1891; in 1833 it became the seat of the _Austrian Lloyd_, the oldest and one of the greatest of the steamboat companies in the Mediterranean. The harbour is entered by ca. 12,000 vessels annually (imports 573, exports 508 million florins). The new Tauern Railway, completed in 1909, the direct route to the Baths of Gastein, the Tyrol, and thence to Germany, is expected to give a new impulse to the trade of the city.

The =Harbour= comprises the _Porto Vecchio_ (Pl. A, B, 4), sheltered by the _Molo Santa Teresa_ (Pl. A, 5; lighthouse) of 1756, the _Porto Nuovo_ (Pl. A, 1–3), with its four moles and a breakwater 1186 yds. long, constructed in 1867–83, and the _Porto Nuovo di Sant’ Andrea_ or _Francesco Giuseppe Primo_ (Pl. A, B, 7). The last, in the _Bay of Muggia_, was completed in 1910. Between the Porto Nuovo and Porto Vecchio is the _Canal Grande_ (Pl. C, 4), completed in 1756, for small vessels only.

Near the old harbour are the two busiest squares in the town, the PIAZZA GRANDE (Pl. B, C, 4) and the PIAZZA DELLA BORSA. In the Piazza Grande are a marble _Statue of Charles VI._ and the _Maria Teresa Fountain_ (1751). On its E. side rises the _Municipio_ or town-hall (Pl. C, 4). Next to the sea are pleasure-grounds; at the S. end of these is the _Lloyd Palace_ (Pl. B, 4); at the N. end is the _Luogotenenza_ (or governor’s residence; Pl. 7, C, 4).

To the N. of the Piazza Grande are the _Theatre_ (Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi, Pl. C, 4) and the _Tergesteo_ (Pl. 13; C, 4), the new exchange, built in 1852. The _Borsa_, or old exchange (Pl. C, 4), is now the seat of the chamber of commerce.

The VIA DEL CORSO (Pl. C, D, 4), the main street of Trieste, running to the E. from the Piazza della Borsa, separates the new town from the streets of the old town, which ascend the castle-hill. The old _Castello_ (Pl. D, 5) now contains the barracks. Fine views are obtained from the terraces of the _Convento dei Cappuccini_ (Pl. D, 4, 5) and of the CATHEDRAL (_Basilica San Giusto_; Pl. 3, D, 5; closed 12–3), which is composed of three early-Christian churches (6th cent.), united in the 14th century.

Between the cathedral and the Piazza Grande are the open-air _Museo Lapidario_ (Pl. 9; C, 5), Via della Cattedrale 9, and the _Arco di Riccardo_ (Pl. 1a; C, 5), the remains of a Roman arch.

In the Piazza Lipsia, to the S.W. of the Piazza Grande, rises the _Commercial and Nautical Academy_ (Pl. 1; B, 5), containing the _Museo Civico_ of natural history and antiquities. Near it is the Piazza Giuseppina (Pl. B, 5), with a bronze monument by Schilling to the _Archduke Maximilian_ (d. 1867; see below).

ENVIRONS. By the _Passeggio di Sant’ Andrea_ (Pl. A-E, 6, 7), past the _Stabilimento Tecnico_ (Pl. B, 7) and _Lloyd Arsenal_ (Pl. C, D, 7), to (2½ M.) _Servola_ (tramway, p. 425).—By hill-tramway (p. 425) to *=Obelisco= (1125 ft.; Hotel), with terrace; walk thence to the N.W. along the foot of the Karst to the _Belvedere_ (1303 ft.; fine view; best in the evening).

The *Excursion to Miramar is best made in the afternoon; the traveller should ascertain whether or not the park and château are open. The highroad (4½ M.; motor-omnibus, see p. 425) skirts the coast. We may take the train also from the S. Station to (5 M.) _Miramar_ or to (5½ M.) _Grignano_ and descend thence in ¼ hr. (or ½ hr.) to Miramar, or take the tramway (p. 425) to _Barcola_ (sea-baths; Hôt. Excelsior) and walk thence to (2½ M.) Miramar (motor-omnibus 60 _h_). The pleasantest route, however, is that of the steamer (p. 425),—The imperial château of =Miramar=, on the beautiful _Punta di Grignano_, was built in 1854–6 by Archd. Maximilian. It was here that he accepted the imperial crown of Mexico (1864). The château, which has a charming park, is open to the public (10–12 and 3–5, in winter 2–4; adm. 60 _h_).

From the S. station of _Opčina_ (pronounced Óptchina; see p. 425; ordinary trains only stop here) directly in ½ hr. (or from Trieste viâ Miramar, 10½ M. Nabresina, and 18 M. Opčina in 1¼–2½ hrs.) to (10 or 28 M.) =Divača= (pronounced Divátcha; 1418 ft.; Buffet, also R. 2 _K_ 80 _h_, good; quarters also at the Restaurant Obersnel), station for (1 M.) _Kronprinz Rudolf’s Grotto_ (tickets, etc. at the buffet), for the (¾ hr.) _Stephanie-Warte_ (1428 ft.; view), and for the grand _Cataracts and Caverns of St. Canzian_ (tickets and guides at the inn of Joh. Gombač at _Matavun_, ½ hr. below the Stephanie-Warte, ¾ hr. from Divača).

See also _Baedeker’s Austria-Hungary_.

* * * * *

The ITALIAN STEAMERS from Venice to Alexandria usually leave the lagoons to the N. of the _Lido_ (p. 424), avoiding _Chioggia_ and the marshy delta of the _Po_. They then steer down the Adriatic Sea towards Ancona. In clear weather we obtain a superb view of the Alps, of the Euganean hills to the N.W., and of the _Apennines_, whose offshoots come close down to the Adriatic near _Rimini_.

=Ancona= (Hôt. Roma e Pace, etc.; Brit, vice-consul; pop. 33,300, incl. about 6000 Jews), 140 M. to the S.E. of Venice, a strongly fortified town and the busiest seaport on the E. coast of Italy, is splendidly situated between the headlands of _Monte Astagno_ and _Monte Guasco_, the N.W. spurs of Monte Conero (p. 428).

The _Harbour_, an oval basin open towards the W., is considered the best in Italy. The well-preserved _Arch of Trajan_, in marble, of 115 A.D., and a _Triumphal Arch_ of the time of Pope Clement XII. (1730–40) recall the two founders of the N. quays. The _Banchina_, on the E. side of the harbour, is a modern quay (1880).

From the Dogana we may walk to the E. in a few minutes to the church of _Santa Maria della Piazza_, with its lavishly decorated façade (1210), and to the late-Gothic _Loggia dei Mercanti_ (Exchange; 1454–9). A little to the E. is the _Prefettura_ (15–16th cent.), with its fine quadrangle and a superb Renaissance archway.

The Via del Comune, near this, leads to the N., past the _Palazzo del Comune_ (of 1493, but much modernized), to the *_Cathedral_ (San Ciriaco; closed 12 to 4.30), on Monte Guasco, a fine point of view. The church, in which Byzantine and Romanesque forms are mingled, dates from 1128–89; the fine porch is of the 13th century.

The STEAMERS round the N. pier, and beyond _Monte dei Cappuccini_ (lighthouse) pass _Monte Conero_ (1877 ft.; the ancient _Promontorium Cunerum_), crowned with a Camaldulensian monastery. This limestone mass does not form part of the Apennines, in front of which it lies, and geologically considered is perhaps, like Monte Gargano (see below), a relic of the great Dalmatian limestone tableland (p. 429).

The coast recedes. In clear weather we sight in succession the summits of the Central Apennines, snow-clad till July: _Monte Vettore_ (8130 ft.), the highest of the _Monti Sibillini_, the _Gran Sasso d’Italia_ (9561 ft.) in the _Abruzzi_, and the _Maiella_, with _Monte Amaro_ (9170 ft.).

After some time we pass the four low _Trémiti Islands_, the mythical _Insulae Diomedeae_, and then the rocky island of _Pianosa_ (ancient _Planasia_), beyond which we sight _Monte Gargáno_ (3464 ft.; _Mons Garganus_), once, as late as the tertiary age, an island separated from the mainland by a strait.

Off the lighthouse of _Vieste_, on the E. side of the peninsula, we steer away from the _Bay of Manfredonia_ and due S.E. to—

=Bari= (Hôt. Cavour, Corso Vittorio Emanuele; Caffè del Risorgimento, at the hotel; Brit. vice-cons. and U. S. cons. agent; pop. 73,400), the ancient _Barium_, a provincial capital and the largest trading town in Apulia. As in the time of Horace, this is the part of the Adriatic where fish are most abundant.

From the _Porto Nuovo_, on the N.W. side of the old town, Monte Gargano, often cloud-capped, is visible even in rainy weather. The small _Porto Vecchio_, on the E. side, admits small craft only.

The sights of the old town are the _Castle_, once that of the Hohenstaufen, dating from Emp. Frederick II. (1223; now barracks and signalling station), the _Cathedral_, a Romanesque church of the 12th cent. modernized in 1745, and the church of _San Nicóla_, dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari. San Nicola and the small church of _San Gregorio_ near it date from the end of the 11th century.—The old town and the new (_Borgo_) are separated by the broad _Corso Vittorio Emanuele_, which ends in pleasant promenades.

Beyond Bari we skirt the coast, where in the seaports of _Mola di Bari_, _Polignano a Mare_, and _Monopoli_, with their white houses, we see the first signs of the Orient. The _Faro di Penna_, the lighthouse on _Capo Gallo_, and the lighthouses in the islands of _Sant’ Andrea_ (see below) and _Le Petagne_ mark the approach to (475 M.) _Brindisi_ (see below).

The AUSTRIAN LLOYD STEAMERS, on leaving _Trieste_ (p. 425), steer to the S.W. through the _Bay of Trieste_, avoiding the numerous bays of the N.W. coast of _Istria_; then, beyond the lighthouse of _Salvore_, the ancient _Silvium Promontorium_, they keep in sight of the hilly, olive-clad W. coast of Istria. We pass the small coast-towns of _Umago_, _Cittanuova_, and _Parenzo_ (ancient _Parentium_), then the lighthouse on the _Marmi Bank_, the _Canal di Leme_, a kind of fiord, backed by _Monte Maggiore_ (4580 ft.), and the harbour of _Rovigno_, sheltered by cliffs (scogli).

Beyond the cliff of _San Giovanni in Pélago_ (lighthouse) we pass the _Isŏle Brioni_, where the Venetians once quarried stone for their palaces and churches. Fine view of the deeply cut bay of _Pola_, the chief naval seaport of Austria, used also by the Romans of the imperial age as a naval harbour.

Beyond _Cape Promontore_ (ancient _Polaticum Promontorium_), the flat S. extremity of Istria, with a lighthouse on the _Porer Cliff_, a delightful view in clear weather is revealed of the Dalmatian islands, relics of the ancient Dalmatian limestone plateau, now submerged in the Adriatic. The most conspicuous are _Lussin_ (_Apsorus Insula_), culminating in _Monte Ossero_ (1929 ft.), and to the E., overtopped by it, _Unie_ and _Sansego_ with their lighthouses.

We pass the large islands of _Lunga_ or _Grossa_ and _Incoronata_ (_Celadussae Insulae_), lying off the coast near Zara. A good way farther on we sight the rocky islet of _Pomo_, midway between Dalmatia and the E. coast of Italy; then the islands of _Sant’ Andrea_ (1001 ft.), _Busi_ (788 ft.; containing the _Spelonca di Ballon_, resembling the blue grotto of Capri), and _Lissa_ (1920 ft.; ancient _Issa_), where the Austrian fleet defeated the Italian in 1866.

Between the islands of _Cazza_ (797 ft.) and _Lagosta_ (1368 ft.; ancient _Ladesta_) and the Italian island-group of _Pelagosa_, we may descry _Monte Gargano_ (p. 428) to the S.W. in clear weather.

We now steer straight towards the _Faro di Penna_ (p. 428).

=Brindisi.=—The QUAY is on the N.E. side of the town; the STATION, on the S.W. side, is ¾ M. from the quay. Between them runs the Corso Garibaldi, continued to the W. by Corso Umberto Primo.

HOTELS (charges should be agreed upon beforehand). _Grand-Hôt. International_, at the quay, R. 5–10, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 6, omn. 1½ fr.; _Albergo Europa_, Corso Garibaldi 147, R. from 2 fr.; _Alb. Centrale_, Corso Garibaldi 67, near the harbour; these two, with restaurants, fairly good.—_Café Caprez._

CAB (bargaining necessary) from station to quay 60 c., 2 pers. 1 fr., 3 pers. 1 fr. 20 c.; ½ hr. 2, 1 hr. 3 fr.; at night 20 c. more; trunk 20 c.

=Post & Telegraph Office=, Corso Umberto Primo and on the quay.

BRITISH CONSUL, _S. G. Cocoto_.

STEAMBOAT OFFICES. _Società Nazionale_, Via Margherita 32; _Austrian Lloyd_, Thos. Cook & Son, Strada Marina.—The steamers are generally moored at the quay; otherwise, landing or embarkation 60 c.—LLOYD’S AGENT, _Sig. Nervegna_.—ENGLISH CHURCH SERVICE in winter.

_Brindisi_ (pop. 22,000), a quiet town, the seat of an archbishop, has been ever since ancient times an important starting-point for the East. In the middle ages its harbour was often sought by the Crusaders, and hosts of travellers now pass through it on their way to or from Egypt, India, Australia, etc. The inner harbour, sheltered from every wind, consists of two natural creeks formed by erosion; in the southmost, the Seno di Ponte Piccolo, 492 yds. long, the large steamers are easily berthed. The channel connecting the inner harbour with the outer had become choked with sand in the later middle ages, but was reopened in 1755 and lined with masonry in 1866. On the island of _Sant’ Andrea_, outside the harbour, rises a castle of the 15th cent., now a quarantine station.

The town offers few sights. On a height close to the quay stands a _Column_, 62 ft. high, with a rich capital containing figures of gods. Adjacent is the base of a second column. The unfinished inscription on the first mentions Lupus Protospatha, a Byzantine governor, who restored the town in the 10th cent. after its destruction by the Saracens. These columns are said to have marked the end of the Via Appia which led from Rome to Tarentum and Brundisium, and they perhaps bore a beacon-fire. The Gothic _Castle_, with its huge round towers, on the N. creek, to the W. of the town, built by Emp. Frederik II. about 1235 and strengthened by Charles V., now contains a bagno for galley convicts. The baptistery of _San Giovanni al Sepolcro_ (11th cent.), with its fine portals and frescoes, is now a museum of antiquities. The _Cathedral_, in its present form, is of the 18th cent.; at the corner of a street opposite is a mediæval house with an elaborate balcony. The Norman church of _San Benedetto_ (early 13th cent.) has an interesting side-portal and fine cloisters. _Santa Lucia_ has a crypt with relics of Byzantine frescoes.

Leaving Brindisi the STEAMER next passes through the _Straits of Otranto_, the entrance to the Adriatic, about 47 M. in breadth, within sight at first of the flat and marshy coast of Apulia, with the lighthouse of _San Cataldo_. To the E., on the coast of _Albania_, rise the _Acroceraunian Mts._ (p. 496).