below the cathedral, where a good many well-heads of Venetian type are
also preserved, 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 quæstor and
Senator Fabius Severus (of the time of Antoninus Pius), engraved on one
of two large 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, ornamented equally on both sides, perhaps a
memorial of one of the ancient gates. It is known as the Arco di
Riccardo, from some fancied connection with Richard Coeur de Lion.
[Illustration: ARCO DI RICCARDO, TRIESTE]
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
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 _repoussé_ 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 representing 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 bull's-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: "Sistilianum · publica · Casiilir · 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.
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 1313-1319. It provides for a foreign
podestà, 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 mediæval 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.
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, confounded 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. 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 prevent
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 transported 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 following year they entered Istria again,
sacking and devastating 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 Ægida (Capodistria), Æmonia
(Cittanova), Albona, Parentium, 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 Cæsar 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 belonged 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 philanthropic 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 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 questionable actions. It arose from the Emperor Justinian in 544
condemning (1) 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 confirmed the decision of the Council of
Constantinople, and anathematised those who refused to accept it.
Notwithstanding 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 Macedonius, called a synod
at Aquileia in 557, which repudiated the decision of the Council of
Constantinople. 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 Byzantine protection. Elias of Grado held the same
opinions as his predecessor, even excommunicating his adversaries. 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, compelling 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 Aquileian patriarchs only became reconciled to the
papacy in 698 when the Lombards had ceased to be Arians. The Istrian
bishops obeyed the Patriarch 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 arbitrary 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 incursions by the
barbarians, either beaten off, or successful, 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 conquered
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 877 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, Traù, 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 Rialto between Istria and
Venice by the Marquis of Istria, the bishops of Pola and Cittanova, two
"locopositi," 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, avoiding
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 herself 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 representative, 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 Istriæ," 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 podestà 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 podestà and consuls, &c.;
while many documents show that the whole body of citizens was summoned
to a "parlamento" for the publication of new laws, very important
deliberations requiring practical unanimity, the installation of fresh
magistrates, &c. The "statute" was apparently drawn up when a foreign
podestà 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 podestà 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 practically depopulated the
province, returning again and again till 1631. In the fourteenth century
it decimated the Brioni Islands; no less than five Benedictine convents
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 1361 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 Verteneglio, and in 1686, as
there were not enough citizens to constitute a council, they had to add
strangers to make a quorum. Angelo Morosini, podestà 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 1631 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 accessible 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.
[Illustration: WEST END OF THE CHURCH, MUGGIA VECCHIA]
[Illustration: CHOIR-SCREEN AND AMBO, MUGGIA VECCHIA
_To face page 81_]