Vecchia) in 639 took refuge on a rocky hill sheltered by an oak wood
(_dubrava_ in Slav, from which the Slav name Dubrovnik may be derived),
and Salonitans joined them. In 690 or 870 they began to enclose the
place with walls, with the help of the Servian ruler, Paulimir. These
walls only enclosed the southern part, and the Stradone served as ditch
and harbour. It is claimed that the Republic was founded in 663. Three
extensions of the walls are recorded before the twelfth century. There
was a Slavonic colony on Monte Sergio, on the other side of the ditch,
and the name of their patron saint, Sergius, has survived in that name.
The patron saint of the Latin colony on the island was Bacchus, and when
the two colonies amalgamated, as neither would accept the patron saint
of the other, they chose a fresh one, S. Blaise. They put themselves
under Venetian protection in 998, the first count being Ottone Orseolo.
The earliest recorded commercial treaty is with Pisa, made in 1169. From
1205 we find Venice supreme, and she remained so for nearly a hundred
and fifty years, with an interval of Byzantine rule. In 1358 Ragusa was
under the protection of the king of Hungary: the sneer against it of
being "sette bandiere" (seven flagged) suggests that it sought
protection from more than one power at a time. It was the headquarters
of effort for the conversion of the Slavs, which explains the gifts made
to its churches by Servian kings and nobles. From 1358 it was
practically independent, though it paid a tribute of 500 iperperi to
Hungary, and used the Hungarian standard as well as that of S. Biagio.
The fifteenth century was the period of greatest prosperity,
overshadowed by the fear of being eaten up by Venice. To make themselves
secure the Ragusans paid tribute to Constantinople in 1453 of 1,500
ducats, increased afterwards to 10,000; and this tribute appears to
have been continued till 1718. Sigismond Malatesta came to Ragusa in
1464, intending to make it a base of attack on Italy in conjunction with
the Sultan, but stayed there, and became military commander. Ragusa thus
gained the special benevolence of the Pontifical Court, and permission
to traffic with the infidel.
The greatest misfortune which befel Ragusa was the earthquake of April
6, 1667, which is thus described. In the early morning "there came from
below ground a horrible and dreadful earthquake, which in a few moments
destroyed the Rector's palace, the Rector himself being killed, and all
the other palaces, churches, monasteries, and houses in the city,
everything being overthrown, and there was much loss of life; the havoc
was increased by the huge rocks which fell from the mountains; thus the
city became a heap of stones. At the same time, a wind having arisen,
misfortune was heaped upon misfortune, and, in consequence of the fall
of timbers upon the kitchen fires, flames burst forth: the fire lasted
several days, causing much suffering to the few survivors of this
horrible disaster. Not more than 600, besides 25 nobles, escaped, and it
was a sad sight to see these people, most of them injured, wandering
about almost beside themselves with despair, in the ruined streets,
imploring pity and pardon from the Lord God for their sins. Moreover,
the Castle rock was seen to burst open and close again twice, and the
waters of the sea sank back four times. Even the wells dried up
completely. The land fort remained untouched; the sea fort, the dogana,
and the lazaretto were partially damaged, but can be repaired in a short
time. Many, moved by compassion at hearing the lamentable cries of those
buried among the ruins, struggled to remove the rubbish of stones and
timber with which they were covered, and found some still alive,
although they had been three, four, or even five days in that terrible
condition" (from a Venetian book of 1667). A good deal of plundering
went on, the peasants and Morlacchi looking on the catastrophe as a
godsend. Biagio Caboga and Michele Bosdari armed their retainers, and
kept watch over the ruined churches and public buildings: the relics and
remains of the cathedral treasure were removed to a chapel in the
Dominican monastery, and bricked up, with a barred aperture only left;
and the State treasure was taken to Fort Leverone, where a provisional
government was established. The situation appeared so hopeless that it
was proposed to move the town to Gravosa, but the citizens would not
leave the place. Apparently some 5,000 people had been killed, but the
fragments of Venetian architecture on the slopes of Monte Sergio, as
well as the one house pointed out beyond the cathedral, show that a good
many houses survived in part.
In 1796, when the French occupied the Ionian Islands, a French
commissary appeared at Ragusa, and asked for a loan of 1,000,000 francs.
It was granted, but produced a rebellion which brought about a short
occupation by Austrian troops. By the peace of Presburg (1805), Austria
ceded Dalmatia and the Bocche to France. The Bocchesi and Montenegrins
determined rather to give themselves to Russia, and, with the help of a
squadron sent from Corfu, took the Bocche from Austria as far as
Castelnuovo. The French moved towards Ragusa, meaning to occupy Cattaro.
General Lauriston, with 800 men, crossed the Ombla and entered the city
under pretext of resting his soldiers. The news reached Cattaro, and the
Bocchesi, Montenegrins, and Russians invaded the territory of the
Republic, beating the French near Ragusa Vecchia, and besieging them in
Ragusa. On July 6, 1806, Gravosa was burnt, with the shipping and
stores. In 1808 Marmont declared the Republic dead and buried, and the
French retained Ragusa till 1814. In January of that year Count Biagio
Bernardo di Caboga raised the people, and with English and Austrian
troops, freed his country from the French. The flag of Ragusa flew for
the last time between those of Austria and England on January 3. On the
28th the territory was taken possession of by Austria. A short time
before the French occupation Ragusa had 400 sea-going ships.
There is very little remaining from the early period, though there are
records of building being done. Resti, who is an authority for the local
history of Ragusa, says that Stefano, king of Croatia Bianca, vowed to
restore S. Stefano, Ragusa, and remained there two years while it was
being done, spending much money upon it. His wife Margherita, a noble
Roman lady, sent a quantity of silver to ornament the relics of the
saints, of which the church had many and finally the royal couple
visited it, the king being accompanied by several barons, and the queen
by her ladies. The rest of the Court stayed at Breno and Canali, because
the Ragusans said they could not accommodate them all, the city being
but small. The king, in return for the distinguished treatment which was
accorded him, is said to have given to the Republic, Breno, Vergato,
Ombla, Gravosa, the valley of Malfi, and part of Gionchetto, on the
condition of churches dedicated to S. Stephen being built in all the
towns. After his death his queen resolved to retire to Ragusa and become
a nun. She had a small room built for her by the side of S. Stefano, and
also built the little church of S. Margherita, removed in 1570 when the
fort which still bears the same name was constructed, and rebuilt in the
present military hospital, the old Jesuit convent, where it was used as
a mortuary. She also brought to Ragusa two pieces of the wood of the
true Cross, the larger of which is still in the cathedral The cell
which was built for her still existed in the fifteenth century. The
church of S. Stefano was the old cathedral; it was partially destroyed
by the earthquake of 1667, and never rebuilt. The site is now used as a
recreation ground for the cathedral clergy. Above an early Renaissance
door, made when the building was converted into a sacristy for the later
church, is encrusted a piece of ninth-century sculpture, with the usual
arches, crosses, and palmettes, and in the adjoining wall is an oculus
with an ornamented moulding. By the side of the bishop's palace is a
little chapel with a door apparently of the ninth century. It has a
scroll pattern up the jambs and across the lintel, with the
characteristic triple furrowing, and above the lintel a palmette
cornice; on the reveal is a twisted guilloche treated in the same
manner. There are two or three early churches of little interest on the
hill; one at least has been rebuilt. Gelcich says: "Of the Byzantine
epoch, except the bas-reliefs of S. Stefano, nothing remains save a
memory in the name of the mountain above the city, and the worship of
some saint whose name recalls the East."
The present cathedral was rebuilt between 1667 and 1713, and is of the
usual character. It, however, possesses several good pictures and a very
rich treasury. The most interesting of the pictures is a triptych or
portable altar, an old Bruges picture, which the envoys took with them
when they went to Constantinople every three years to pay the tribute.
The subject is the Adoration of the Magi. In the centre the Virgin is
seated with the Child on her lap. He is kneeling, and extending His hand
to the oldest of the three kings, who has placed sceptre and gifts at
the Saviour's feet. Behind him is another king; through arches a
landscape is seen at the back. On the left wing are the third king, a
Moor, with a group of figures and landscape behind. On the right wing is
a bald-headed man in a rich robe, and in the background a castle. The
centre panel is 2 ft. 9 in. high by 1 ft. 9 in. broad. It is in the
style of Memling. There are also several Padovaninos and pictures
ascribed to Titian and others, a Palma Vecchio, and a fine head of
Christ by Pordenone.
[Illustration: RELIQUARY OF THE HEAD OF S. BLAISE, CATHEDRAL TREASURY,
RAGUSA
_To face page 343_]
The formalities for opening the treasure caused us some trouble. We
arrived just as the usual weekly exhibition was over, and I was told
that it was impossible for it to be opened again for seven days. I
explained that I had a special permission from the Government to see
such things, but that I preferred asking Monsignore (and the little
Canon who opened the treasury) to be good enough to give me the
facilities which I desired. He asked to have the _statthalter's_ letter
to show the bishop. I knew, of course, that he wanted to take it to the
_municipio_, to see if it was authentic, and therefore consented, on his
engaging to return it; and so we parted. The next day I was allowed to
enter the treasury, thereby obliging a rich American family, who would
otherwise have found the doors shut, and had a test of my knowledge
applied by being asked the period to which a reliquary belonged of which
the date was known. Having passed my examination satisfactorily, I had
the pleasure of handling any of the objects which I desired to examine,
and, further, of being asked to oblige Monsignore by telling him the
period when certain of the objects were made. Some of the photographs of
the reliquaries were not quite successful, and the next year we returned
to make others, taking with us some copies which we had promised to send
to the bishop. I was rather amused to be greeted effusively as
"Carissimo"; it was such a contrast to our first reception.
[Illustration: HEAD RELIQUARY IN CATHEDRAL, RAGUSA]
The treasury is particularly rich in reliquaries, of which the most
valued contains the head of S. Blaise. It consists of a number of small
Byzantine enamels reset in an elaborate floral pattern of filigree and
enamel by a Venetian goldsmith in 1694--"Franc°° Ferro Venet°," as he
signs himself on the lower edge. The design resembles the later
Hungarian enamel-work very closely. The stalks are simply gold wires,
and the leaves, flowers, &c., are filled in with enamels of different
colours, very delicately varied, leaving the copper ground showing, each
plaque being surrounded with a twist of gold and pinned down to the
capsule of the skull. Legend says that the head was brought to Ragusa in
1026, but even the Byzantine enamels scarcely look as old as that; and
the occurrence of two half-lengths of S. Blaise and two of S. Peter
suggests that it was made up with fragments of several reliquaries, of
which other portions have been used in the arm reliquary of S. Blaise.
The names appear to have been added in the thirteenth century; the
letters are Latin. There are three rows of the enamels. At the top, upon
the curve, are four figures in roundels--"SS. Andreas, Blasivs, Petrvs,"
and the Archangel Michael. The nimbi are blue-green, the figures red.
The second row has eight enamels, alternately round and square; the
round ones are unnamed, and represent three saints (one with a stole,
holding a cross in the right hand) and a badly restored Madonna. The
others are: an Apostle with a roll, "Santvs Petrvs"; a bishop, "Santvs
Blasivs"; "Santvs Matevs" with a book in the left hand; "Santvs Jacobvs"
with a roll. The third row has eight circular enamels, alternately
figures and ornaments. The figures are: Christ enthroned, blessing with
the right hand, and with a roll in the left inscribed "IC XC"; S. John
the Baptist with inscription "S. IO. BAPT."; S. Zenobius, with his name
in full, commencing with a Greek s; and S. John the Evangelist, "S.
Johes Eb Agelisa." The arm reliquary is inscribed "Tomaso Paleologo
despota del Peloponeso donato a Giorgio Radovanovich civi Raguseo 1452."
The saints who appear on the enamels are SS. Laurence, Andrew, Nereus,
Achilleus, Lucas, Tomas, Simon, Bartholomew, and Paul. Another reliquary
has remains of enamel plaques of Christ, the Virgin, Simeon, SS. John
the Evangelist, Blaise, and John the Baptist. A hand of S. Blaise is
contained in a beautiful filigree reliquary, and is kept under glass. A
head reliquary has a fine pierced pattern and a punched border of early
Renaissance character, with niello medallions of the Evangelists'
symbols. Another, not quite so good, is dated 1349, and has similar
nielli, with interlacings of oak-sprigs. There are several very curious
thorax reliquaries, and many arms. Two portable altars with inlaid
reliquaries in patriarchal crosses were seen by Eitelberger, with fine
figure subjects; on one the Virgin and S. John in _repoussé_ in
Romanesque style, and Christ on the Cross on the other, with the
monograms added in enamel. These I did not see. A cross with reliefs of
the Virgin and Child, with angels at the top, S. Mary Magdalene below,
and SS. Blaise and Vincent on the arms, encloses what the Canon told us
with pride was the largest piece of the true Cross in existence. A
processional cross of the fourteenth century, set upon an
eighteenth-century stem, bears figures in relief of Christ, and the
Evangelists' symbols, gilt on a silver ground. On the back are the
Madonna and Child, with God the Father above and a cherub beneath, SS.
Biagio and Francis. Most of the objects are either of the fourteenth or
late thirteenth century in style, but may very likely be later, the
goldsmiths still using the patterns of an earlier period. The curious
reliquary supporting the jaw of S. Stephen of Hungary, and with a figure
of the monarch hanging below it, is interesting (as well as unusual) as
being an example of ancient Hungarian silversmith's work. It was brought
to Ragusa for safety during the Turkish period. There are also several
monstrance-like reliquaries, and one fine monstrance of a later period
with something of German style in its foliated ornament; but the objects
which are exhibited with most pride and with evident expectation of the
stupefaction of the tourist are a ewer and dish of silver-gilt, which
are covered with representations of sea creatures and weeds, worked with
the most extraordinary realism and fineness, and proving very
satisfactorily that the copying of nature and the production of a work
of art are not necessarily connected. They are kept in leather cases,
and the tourist generally makes the expected exclamations when they are
disclosed to view. There is an "N" stamped upon the metal, and it is
thought that Nuremberg was responsible for them.
[Illustration: RELIQUARY OF THE JAW OF S. STEPHEN OF HUNGARY]
[Illustration: CLOISTER OF THE DOMINICAN CONVENT, RAGUSA
_To face page 349_]
The church of S. Biagio is quite near, a late Renaissance building,
which replaced the votive church erected in 1349-52 after the plague of
1348, and burnt in 1706. Above the high-altar is the celebrated silver
statue of S. Blaise which was saved from the fire, and is now preserved
under glass. It is made of silver plates, gilded, on a basis of wood,
and shows the front part of an old man with a long beard, in episcopal
robes, holding a model of the city. The back portion has never been
completed. The head is too large, the neck too short, and the arms too
long. The chasuble has an embroidered cross with figures of Christ and
three saints or Apostles, with two little angels censing below the arms,
and a quatrefoil in the centre. Two half-length saints are on the
dalmatic beneath a double arch. The draperies are well treated,
especially the chasuble, upon which is worked an elaborate Burgundian
pattern. The details of the town which the saint holds in his hand prove
that it was made between 1480 and: 1485. It shows the harbour closed by
a chain. The breakwater was built in 1485. The clock-tower also appears
(built in 1480). The cast portions of the figure (of which the town is
one) are of silver of a different colour from that of the beaten parts,
and there is no-doubt, from the variety of style in certain of the
details that it has been restored more than once, probably after the
fires of 1547 and 1706.
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE DOMINICAN CONVENT, RAGUSA]
The Dominican convent is just within the Porta Ploce, and the stair
which leads to it dates back to Roman times, though it now has
Venetian-looking balustrades of the fourteenth century. It led to a gate
of the city. Until the seventeenth century it was the duty of the
Dominicans to defend Porta Ploce; the Franciscans defended Porta Pile;
and the cathedral canons Porta Pescheria. One hundred soldiers were
selected monthly from the various ranks, and were divided into two bands
for alternate nightly police; twenty-seven more were told off to defend
nine selected points against external attack. The lesser towers belonged
to patrician houses who were responsible for their defence, whilst the
greater and more exposed were looked after by the State. The Dominicans
were first established in 1225, in S. Giacomo in Peline, a small,
roughly constructed church high on the hill, which has a
fourteenth-century Madonna over the altar. Tradition says that S.
Dominic himself established the community. The present church was
building in 1297, and was consecrated in 1306. The portions which
survived the earthquake of 1667 are the south door with the apse of the
chapel close to it, the main apse, and the sacristy. This last is the
ancient church of the Assumption, given to the Dominicans in 1253 by the
Palmotta. The convent was built in 1348. The church has a long nave with
a horizontal wooden roof and a polygonal apse. The choir was once
vaulted. There are two side altars in recesses rather behind the
high-altar. Above them are restored pictures by Nicolaus Raguseus. To
the right the centre panel is filled by a figure of S. Nicholas in a
shell-headed niche; on the right are SS. Mary Magdalene and James; on
the left, SS. John the Baptist and Stephen. The panels are round-headed,
and the sky fills the space behind the figures with their gilded nimbi.
On S. Stephen's dalmatic are patterns in gold; S. Nicholas's chasuble is
of gold with patterns on it. In the picture to the left the Madonna is
seated on the crescent moon holding the Child, and surrounded by
cherubs; on her right are S. Biagio holding the city, and S. Paul; on
her left, S. Thomas Aquinas holding a church, and S. Augustine. There is
a good deal of gold used in the draperies, and the ground is gold. Both
these pictures are very decorative. The high-altar-piece is a Venetian
Madonna and Child, with SS. Dominic and Clara. On the north wall is a
picture ascribed to Titian, parts of which may be from his hand, but it
has been restored. It represents S. Biagio with a crozier, holding the
town; S. Mary Magdalene in ecstasy, with long hair and a white dress; at
the right the donor kneeling, and behind him Tobit and the Angel. There
is also a great coloured crucifix with SS. John and Mary, regarded as
miraculous at the time of the plague of 1358. It was placed here by
Pasquale Resti, and is well modelled, with the head cast down. The dark
brown colouring of the hair is not pleasant, and the white drapery cuts
hardly against the dark-hued flesh.
The pulpit is of stone; beneath shell-headed niches on the front stand
figures of SS. Catherine of Siena, Dominic, Thomas Aquinas, and Peter
Martyr. They and their emblems are painted; the nimbi and the ribs of
the shells are gilded. Across the west end of the nave is a fine early
Renaissance triple arch which was once the architectural setting to
three altars on the north side of the church. Among the ornament, traces
of Gothic feeling still linger. In the sacristy are an Early Martyrdom
of S. Laurence and two other pictures in compartments on a gold ground,
which bear a certain resemblance to others produced in the March of
Ancona. The frame of one of them is especially fine, with projecting
hoods to the niches in which the figures stand. In the centre is the
Baptism of Christ, with a landscape background; on the right are SS.
Augustine and Stephen; on the left, SS. Nicholas and Michael. Above are
half-lengths of the Madonna and Child in a vesica starred with cherubs;
on the right, SS. Peter Martyr and Francis; on the left, SS. Peter and
Dominic. Another has the Madonna, SS. Julian, James, Dominic, and
Matthew on a gold ground. These have also been restored. There are also
two good Flemish pictures on panel, a Christ and a veiled woman. Within
a pointed arch is an interesting funerary inscription stating that the
port was the work of "Pasqualis Michaelis Ragusinus," with the date
1485. He was also master of the foundry, and apparently supervised the
fortifications. He was the architect of the bridge of Porta Pile in
1471, and to him the design of the Sponza is ascribed by some. The note
recording the commencing of the construction of the port (February 19,
1481) embodies the fact of the sailors' approval of the design.
The cross of Uros I. (1275-1320) is over an altar in a room within the
sacristy, the door of which is kept double-locked. It is not very
interesting from the point of view of craft. It is a patriarchal cross
with piercings at the crossings, and rosettes at the ends of the arms,
which are probably later additions. The material is silver, parcel-gilt.
[Illustration: PLAN AND ELEVATION OF ONE BAY OF CLOISTER, DOMINICAN
CONVENT, RAGUSA]
The treasury contains reliquaries and chalices, and a Gothic monstrance,
but nothing of great interest. The south door has round arches beneath
an ogee hood, the jambs are ornamented with damaged scrolled leafage,
and in the tympanum is a figure of S. Dominic. The apse of the chapel
close by is Romanesque, and, with the flight of steps to the door and
the foliage of a tree which overhangs them, makes a picturesque
background to the groups of Herzegovinians who pass on their way from
the Porta Ploce to the Stradone. The cloister is, however, the most
picturesque part of the convent. Beneath round arches smaller cusped
round arches with shafts and caps are grouped in threes, the head having
two circles within it, sometimes pierced as quatrefoils, sometimes with
an interlacing pattern with Oriental suggestion, and reminding one of
the patterns in a similar situation in the cloister at Tarragona. The
same mixture of ornamental _motifs_ may be noticed in the richly carved
moulding which terminates the wall beneath the parapet. The well in the
centre is of 1623, but takes its place among the trees, flowers, and
warm-toned stone quite pleasantly. Above towers the campanile containing
two old bells, one cast by Battista of Arbe in 1516, and one by
Bartolommeo of Cremona, in 1363. It was built by a Ragusan, Fra Stefano,
in 1424, and has three stories of two-light windows, with mid-wall
shafts under round arches, and a crowning octagonal stage. The
enlargement of the church and convent was executed by the architect
Pasqualis Michaelis, just referred to.
[Illustration: LAVABO IN SACRISTY OF FRANCISCAN CONVENT, RAGUSA
_To face page 353_]