Part 22

The chapel of S. Giovanni Orsini and the baptistery remain to be described. S. Giovanni was the greatest of the bishops who rilled the see of Traù, and was canonised in 1192. He came to the city with the legate John of Toledo in the time of the Croatian king Cresimir. The papacy desired to unify the ritual of the Church, substituting the Latin language and the Roman use for the national liturgies, as it had done in Spain, in Milan, and Aquileia. At this time there was no bishop of Traù. The piety and strict life of S. Giovanni were soon noised abroad, and the people desired him for their bishop. In this they were supported by the legate, and he was consecrated in 1064 by Archbishop Laurentius of Spalato. He dismissed his servants, and went through long night-watches, lying naked on straw spread on the floor, to mortify the flesh. The fame of miraculous occurrences accompanied his austerities. His hand on the wine-press produced abundance of juice; he escaped dry-shod from a wreck near Sebenico; and destroyed by his words the war-engines of Coloman in 1105, when he was attacking Zara. A white dove which settled on his head when in conference with the king at Castell, near Sebenico, was taken as a spiritual symbol. He prophesied his own death and the destruction of Sebenico, and miracles were performed at his grave. The body was found in Bua after the Traùrines returned from Spalato in 1152, though another account says that it was discovered within the area of the cathedral, near the high-altar where there is now a well. In 1174 he is reported to have appeared above the building in the form of a shining star; and after that the commune adopted a comet as the arms of the city. The chapel stands on the site of the more ancient double chapel of SS. Doimus and Anastasius. It was begun under Bishop Turlon in 1468, the architects being Masters Nicolò Fiorentino and Andrea Alexci of Durazzo, the stipulated price being 3,300 ducats, and the work occupying six years. The chapel is rectangular, with a barrel vault. Round the walls a seat runs, the front of which is ornamented with diamond forms filled with foliage. Above it is a kind of stylobate with pilasters supporting the columns of the next stage, the spaces between them decorated with reliefs of torch-bearing _putti_, who are represented as issuing from partly open double doors, some of which are very pretty. Each side contains six arches, two of which are pierced with windows, the others having shell-headed niches divided by channelled pilasters or twisted columns, and tenanted by statues nearly life-size. Those which are named are "S. Tomas, S. Ioannes Evangelista, S. Pavlvs, and S. Filippo." Others recognisable by their attributes are S. John the Evangelist as an old man, with the eagle at his feet, S. Mark with his lion, Madonna and S. John the Baptist on the end wall, with our Lord in the centre. Vasari says that Alessandro Vittoria did four Apostles in the church of Traù, and it is suggested that the named figures are these four. The architects carved the first figure, that of S. John the Evangelist, in 1482, at a cost of twenty-five ducats. Between the heads of the niches little children stand on the capitals, and above the cornice is a space pierced by oculi between pilasters. The ceiling is coffered with a cherub's head in each panel, except the central one, which is four times the area of the others, and contains a half-length of Christ, surrounded by a wreath, holding an orb, and blessing. On the lunette is the Coronation of the Virgin. Above the altar is the ancient tomb of the saint, upon the lid of which is his effigy, with silver-plated mitre, and crozier, gloves and shoes. It is of red marble, the front being divided into three panels by twisted colonnettes, once gilt, with statuettes at the corners, and bears an inscription giving the date 1348. The angels are modern. On the pier opposite the side door an inscription records the gift of the right femur of "B. Jo. Ursinus" to Benedict XIII. by the Venetian senate in 1724.

The baptistery is of the same date as the chapel, and was founded by the same bishop, who belonged to the Anconitan family of Turglonia. The door externally is square-headed, and has an architrave with sculptured della Robbia like fruits. Over it is a Baptism of Christ, with God the Father and the Dove above. Within is a frieze of _putti_ bearing garlands, with shell-head niches and channelled pilasters below. Above this is a band of Venetian-Gothic leaves, and in the coffered ceiling are rosettes. This ceiling is a pointed wagon vault, cut from two great blocks of marble, which meet in the centre. A round window in the west gable lights well a life-sized figure of S. Jerome above the altar, the warm brown tint of a portion of the stone being cunningly used to give the effect of shadow on the upper part of the figure. A seat runs round the base of the wall as in the chapel. An inscription gives the name of Andreas Alexius of Durazzo, and the date 1467. The cost was 4,980 zecchins. The resemblance of this baptistery to portions of the cathedral at Sebenico is striking.

The Loggia faces the cathedral at the other side of the _piazza_. One of the shorter ends is open; the other is closed by the clock-tower, and on this wall is elaborate carved ornamentation, behind the seat of the judges. The floor is three feet above the piazza, and is approached by five semicircular steps. Towards the _piazza_, five marble pillars (in several pieces) support moulded brackets, upon which an architrave beam rests, and there is one on the shorter side. The caps are of different dates, and for the most part come from older buildings, one indeed being antique. Between the columns is an early Renaissance balustrade. Stone benches run along the walls. Above the judges' seat the wall is panelled. In the central top panel is a figure of Justice seated upon a winged globe; right and left of her are half-lengths of winged figures with inscribed scrolls, laudatory of Justice, emergent from circles. Below Justice is a great lion of S. Mark, and below the other figures are S. Giovanni Orsini with a model of Traù, and S. Laurence with his gridiron. At each side is a long panel with a candelabrum very like those in panels in the chapel in the cathedral, which make it pretty certain that the carving is by the same hand, especially as the date 1471 appears in one of the inscriptions. There are other inscriptions with the dates 1513 and 1606, and later coats of arms. On the corner shaft are the arms of Pietro Loredano. By the judges' seat is a piece of iron which marks the place where the criminal was chained when his crime was announced. The restoration was carried out in 1892 by Professor Hauser. Right of the steps three standard measures stood till 1843.

It is interesting to note a few of the pains and penalties inflicted. The statute was revised in 1291 and 1303 by the first Venetian Count, M. Morosini, who collected the chapters into three volumes. The town physician was not allowed to leave the town without permission from the count under a fine of twenty-five lire di piccoli. No one could go about at night without a light, and a fine of forty soldi was incurred by gambling anywhere except in the piazza. Spinning was forbidden to the saleswomen on the loggia--fine, five soldi. A servant who stole from his lord had his nose cut off, or lost one or both eyes if the value was ten to twenty-five lire. If the value was greater the thief was hung up till he died. In Traù there was neither bridge-playing nor company-promoting.

Traù is tolerably rich in the remains of ancient houses, of which the drawing shows an example. The most celebrated is the Casa Cippico facing the cathedral, of late Venetian-Gothic verging on Renaissance. The court inside was built in 1457. In the entrance hall are preserved two wooden prow ensigns taken from the Venetian galleys during war between Traù and Spalato; one is in the form of a cock standing on a clenched hand, the other a fragment of a small figure of a man. Also an inscription flanked by two shields with rampant lions, which are good. Opposite the Loggia, on the other side of the street, is a highly decorative lintel, which appears to have belonged to a palace of the Cippico, with two contemplative lions and half-length angels in roundels with scrolls. The caps have the same kind of foliage as is seen at Curzoia and Sebenico. The Austrian-Lloyd office is on the ground floor of a tower of the Venetian period, now a nunnery. It has a trefoiled ogee-window and a great balcony above it, with trellises behind which the nuns can take the air without being seen, recalling those of Sicilian nunneries. All the other openings are square-headed.

The ruined church of S. Giovanni, formerly belonging to a Benedictine nunnery, has exactly the same patterns about it as the cathedral, and must be of the same date. Along the nave walls, and ramping up the gables, is a double-arched corbel cornice with pilasters at the angles, and a bell turret consisting of a prolongation of the nave wall, gabled and with three pointed arched openings, two below, and one above. In the tympanum of the door is a pierced roundel with the Agnus Dei.

The Palazzo Comunale has been rebuilt, preserving the portions which were of special interest, and also pieces of architectural carving from other parts of the city. Its interest is therefore rather that of a museum now. I was fortunate enough, on one of my visits, to have the guidance of the podestà, Commendatore Madirazza, to whom I had been introduced by Professor Bulic at Spalato. I have to thank him for showing me several things I should otherwise have missed.

From Bua (Bavo or Boa), an island used by the Romans as a place of exile, a comprehensive view of Traù may be obtained, with towers and campanile breaking the line of the houses, with the strait in the foreground, and with boats drawn up on the shore. In a private garden is a palm-tree said to be the most northerly specimen in Dalmatia, though there are several at Lussin Piccolo, which is much farther north.

Our first visit to Traù was made by carriage from Spalato, and occupied the whole of a most delightful day, for we did not get back till long after dark. The excellent road is due to the French, but follows the line of that made by the Romans or before their time, passing quite near the Castelli, some of which we were able to visit. It was spring: the vines were making long shoots, and the fields and banks were gemmed with flowers; on one side, the sapphire sea; on the other, the mountain slopes, with scented breezes to cool the ardour of the sun. For the most part the peasants, men and women, were busy in the fields, or washing by the stream, and appeared well-to-do, though we passed one man half naked, searching his garments upon a heap of stones. But he, we gathered from a gendarme near, was considered weak in the head. Long before the town is approached, the towers of Traù are silhouetted against the horizon, emphasising the point of land which they terminate, grey walls and dark trees running together into a mass, but contrasting with each other on a nearer view. We started on our return a little before sunset, while the sun's level rays cast long simplifying shadows across the landscape, and enjoyed the glow upon flowery hillside and purple crag, from which the houses flashed out like jewels, and the water beneath changed its colour with the changing sky. The twilight faded while we were passing Salona, and in the long climb to the crest of the rising ground above Spalato we had only the light of the carriage lamps, finally alighting outside the northern wall of the palace (for carriages cannot enter within the town) weary, but filled with delightful impressions and recollections. Another time we went by boat, starting at 6 o'clock, and enjoying the early morning freshness of effect. In this trip also we had the opportunity of visiting some of the Castelli, which are interesting generally rather for their picturesqueness than for archæological reasons. In the chapter dealing with Spalato will be found some details as to remains of the early Croatian period found along the coast and in the environs. At Castel Vecchio we saw on the wall of the churchyard a cross with a much damaged antique cap as base, and another antique base on a larger scale beneath it. It was 6.40 a.m., and along the shore, a little way off, a procession was passing with a tinkling bell, two banners, and processional crosses, preceding a figure in a cope of white and gold beneath a canopy. It was Low Sunday (called Piccola Pasqua in Dalmatia), and the priest was bearing the Host either to some sick person or to a neighbouring church. Such sights are frequent in the country places, where religious observances are more evident than in the towns.

Whichever way Traù is visited from Spalato (given pleasant weather) the day may be looked forward to as giving a constant succession of delightful experiences, of which the central point will be the mediæval-looking city with its magnificent cathedral and glorious west door, though the quaintness of the costume of the country people, very individual and unlike other Morlacchi costumes, will count for something.

The Castelli were built as defences against Turkish raids. Starting from Traù the first is Castel Papali; Castelnuovo, Castel Vecchio, Castel Vitturi, Castel Cambio, and Castel Abbadessa follow, and Castel Sucurac is the nearest to Spalato and Clissa. These are the Sette Castelli, but there are several others--Stafileo, Andreis, Cega, Quarco, and Dragazzo.

Castel Papali, or Nehaj, is three-quarters of an hour from Traù, and was built in 1548 by Lodovico and Giovanni Celio. It was then called Celio or Lodi. In 1680 it passed to the family of Francesco Papali, the Celi having failed of heirs male. It now belongs to Count Fanfogna-Garagnin of Traù.

Castel Stafileo was built in 1500 by Stefano Stafileo, of a family established in Traù coming from Candia. He separated it from the mainland, and it was entered by a drawbridge; the ditch is now filled up. The concession is dated 1484.

Castel Dragazzo, or Dracic, founded by Matteo Dragazzo in 1543, on a concession from the Venetian senate, was never finished, in consequence of his death. The material of the walls was used to construct the port of Castelnuovo. The Dragazzi appear in 1389. They were originally butchers, but for about three centuries gave the country men of intellect and valour.

Castel Quarco "in Bile," of which very little is left, was built in 1588 by Giovanni Quarco with a walled courtyard. The site was granted to Matteo Dragazzo, who ceded it to Quarco.

The church at Castelnuovo inherited with the title of S. Pietro the rights of S. Pietro di Klobucac, a little inland on the slope of the hill (where remains of a monastery or palace of the ninth to the eleventh century have been found). It was demolished in 1420. According to tradition some of the objects there preserved came from the older church. The _pala_ of the high-altar, a panel painting on gesso ground, the Virgin and Child seated, on the right S. Peter with the keys, on the left S. John the Baptist with scroll "Ecce Agnus Dei," half-length, is one thing. The inscriptions are in Roman capitals. Also two Romanesque-looking bronze candlesticks. The Castello has a square tower, which has lost the balcony which surrounded it at the height of the first floor. In the piazza is the Loggia, rebuilt in 1795, as an inscription states. It was burnt in 1523 together with most of the houses. The _provveditore_ granted materials for rebuilding, but it was again burnt in 1575. Until recently this Castello belonged to the Cippico. It was the birthplace of the historian Katalinic, born here in 1779.

Castel Vecchio was founded in 1481 by Coriolanus Cippico, with booty gained in the war against Mahomet II. in 1471, as is testified by the inscription over the gate, "Triremis ex manubiis Asiaticis hanc villam ædificavit," with date 1481. Tradition says that a house on the left of the eastern gate with a walled courtyard was also his work. He died here in 1493, leaving it to his sons Alvise, bishop of Famagosta, and Zuanne, archbishop of Zara. Over a door in the courtyard is the Cippico crest with the motto "Omnia exalto." Opposite is a chapel dedicated to S. Joseph and the Virgin, built by Coriolanus's son Lælius, according to the inscription, with the incredibly late date of 1695. In 1480 Nicolò Pisani, count of Traù, received a "ducale" from Giovanni Mocenigo, in which Cippico was promised munitions of war and men-at-arms to preserve the Castello, and, by the assurance of security, to attract cultivators to the fertile country "for greater public usefulness." This seems to support Karaman's statement that the Castello was founded in 1476. An inscription of 1492 above the arch between the court and main street records its ruin by fire and restoration by the senate. In 1500 the Venetian Government completed Cippico's work at a cost of 500 ducats. It was called Castel Vecchio because it was the first of the Castelli founded.

Castel Vitturi, built in 1487 by Girolamo and Nicolò Vitturi of Traù, by concession from Count Carlo di Pesaro, is now without drawbridge or ditch. The founder of the family, Lampridio, son of Giacomo Vitturi, a Venetian noble, came to Traù in 1213, and married Bona Cega. The Castello is square, with two gates, one to the sea, and the other to the north, apparently entirely rebuilt in 1563, except the north side, which still has two turrets flanking the gate pierced for musketry, and traces of the holes through which the chains of the drawbridge passed, also of a balcony which was probably for defence.

The next one is Castel Rosani (Rusinac), built in 1482 by Michele Rosani, under a concession from Count Francesco Ferro. The village was surrounded with walls; but, fearing that they would not be able to beat off the Turks, the inhabitants dismantled them, and sought refuge in Castel Vitturi, which was larger and better fortified. It is still in good preservation, however, with its little church, which contains the tomb of the unfortunate lovers whose story has been told by Marco di Casotti.

Castel Cambio (Kambelovac) was built in 1566 by Francesco Cambi of Spalato. It is still partly preserved. At one time it formed one parish with the adjacent Castel Abbadessa (Gomilica). It belonged to the lordship of Sucurac, which embraced nine villages. The nuns in the sixteenth century erected the Castello on an island, and here the abbesses were wont to come for the summer; hence the name. The nuns built the little church at the entrance of the village on the right of the road; it was dedicated to SS. Cosmo and Damian, and consecrated by Assalone, archbishop of Spalato, 1159-1160. It is suggested that the Slav name Gomilica ("masses of masonry") comes from the fact that the newer houses were built with the ruins of the village of Kozice, destroyed by the Turks.

Castel Sucurac is the nearest of the Castelli to Spalato, the first to which the Turks would come, descending from Clissa. The position and the Roman remains found here are held to prove that it was a suburb of Salona. It took its name from S. Giorgio, a little chapel upon the hill, which in Croat is called Sut Juraj, corrupted into Sucuraj. The church was built by the great zupan Miroslav; and the ruined walls which surround the present chapel, showing a foot above the soil, are supposed to be the remains of that church, since there are amongst them a few pieces of carved stone. The most ancient Croat document existing is a deed of gift of this place and church to the Archbishop of Spalato, Pietro III., by the King Trpimir, in 837, in exchange for £11 given by the archbishop for the construction of the church and monastery of S. Peter, between the ruins of Salona and the fortress of Klis. In 1076 King Zvonimir confirmed the gift. One of the finest buildings in the village is the palace of the archbishop, dated 1488 by an inscription over the door. The Castello and walls round the village were built by Andrea Gualdo, archbishop in 1392, by concession of Valchio, ban of Croatia. In 1489 Archbishop Bartolommeo Averoldo of Brescia, built a second wall. In 1503 it was further strengthened; but two years later the Turks burnt it. In 1646, after being repulsed from Spalato, they attacked Sucurac again, but were unsuccessful. The first summer palace of the archbishops was in Vranjic; it was destroyed by the Venetian fleet in 1204.

Castel Cega was built by Andrea di Celio Cega in 1487, and rebuilt by Paolo Andreis. The Celio were an ancient family of Traù, said to date from Roman times, and had many branches, one of which (extinct in 1511) was called Celio-Morte, because a member of it had the habit of threatening opponents with death, and used a skull for his crest.

The following privileges were enjoyed by the nobles of the Castelli, or founders of the towns. The right to special contributions from the country people, and the _jus patronato_ of the churches. The sacristan, without their assent, could not give the third signal of the Mass, nor of Vespers on festival days, a usage which is still observed at Castel Cambio and Castel Vitturi. In the church they had their own benches, and the space they occupied could not be taken by any one else, not even for the erection of new altars. When the _provveditore_ was present at solemn functions a bench was placed for him and the "padroni," as well as for the authorities of the Castelli and the colonel of the district. They were the first to receive incense after the priest at Mass; and there were numerous other similar customs. If a child of the "padrone" died, all the bells rang; if an adult, they were clappered; and all the confraternities had to be present at the funeral, whether in the village, at Spalato, or at Traù. The "padrone" was the medium of communication between the higher authorities and the village headman, who had to close the gates at night, and take him the key. He received the tolls paid for living in the village; and there was a kind of _corvée_ of forced work. Moreover, he had the right to buy the houses of those who sold them, at a third less than their real value, to sell again to fresh inhabitants. The oil-mills belonged to him, and a fifth of the produce was divided between him and the customs. If the olives were taken elsewhere a tenth of the oil was paid to him all the same. Wine-presses were also his property; the oven, too, and a proportion of the wine made and bread baked went to him. Nothing could be bought or sold without his license. He received all the tongues of oxen killed, and the heads of pigs. He covered the cistern in time of drought, and water could only be drawn when he took the cover off. The streets were ordered to be kept clean, and slops taken to the sea, not thrown out of the window! At Christmas and Easter the country people still bring presents to their lords.

The proverb "Wine of the Castelli, honey of Solta, and milk of Bua" is still justified; and agents for wine merchants, especially French, bargain for the wines before the grapes are ripe. Enormous hogsheads are shipped on the boats, and the transhipping them is often a dangerous business, if we may judge from our own experiences. At Castel Vecchio we were nearly spectators of a serious accident when a cord slipped, and we observed that the men crossed themselves each time one was safely lowered into the hold.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 3: The last king to visit it was Sigismund in 1387.]

XXI

SPALATO