RAGUSA INDEPENDENT OF HUNGARY (1526-1667)
The period between the establishment of the Turks in Bosnia and the
fall of the Venetian Republic is one of great interest for the whole
of Dalmatia. “In these events,” writes an anonymous author in the
_Annuario Dalmatico_,[457] “every village has its part, almost every
family its glorious record. And if on the one hand we still find the
traces, I may almost say the smoking ruins, of the desolation wrought
upon us by the Turkish armies; on the other we find many memories of
the valour of the Dalmatians in the trophies of the families, in the
rank of nobility obtained as a reward for incredible sacrifices, in the
letters of commendation, even in certain religious festivals, and in a
large part of those customs which time has rendered sacred to the heart
of our people, and most of us observe scrupulously, without perhaps
understanding their meaning.”
At the same time Turks and Christians through familiarity became
less hostile, and did much business together. “Once the massacre was
over the Turks spent much money, and thus after Castelnuovo had been
captured, plundered, and 4000 Christians murdered, it became a source
of great wealth to the Ragusans and to the people of Perasto. That is
the reason why so many Jews from Spain settled on the Turkish shores
of the Adriatic, especially at Castelnuovo.... Turkish customs spread
among the Dalmatians, even as regards their clothes and their jewels
and their harems. Stolivo and the Catena (Bocche di Cattaro) were
regular slave marts; women led a retired life like those of the East.”
Ragusa was especially affected by Turkish influence, owing to her
semi-dependent position and her close intercourse with her powerful
neighbour, and this led to many complications with Venice and other
Christian States.
The first years after the cessation of the Hungarian protectorate
were again disturbed by a quarrel with the Venetians. Some of the
grain ships bringing foodstuffs to Ragusa were captured by Venetian
cruisers in the Adriatic, as the Government of the great Republic
accused its small but enterprising rival of playing a double game. The
Ragusans, wishing to retaliate, thought that they could not do better
than by tampering with the Venetian despatches. The Senate did not
exactly authorise these proceedings, but the Archbishop Trivulzio, a
Milanese,[458] who was very friendly to France and therefore hostile to
Venice and Spain, had the messenger carrying letters to the Venetian
Provveditore at Cattaro seized. The papers, which contained the
announcement of an alliance against the Sultan, were at once forwarded
to the French ambassador at Constantinople.[459] The Venetians were
furious, and threatened vengeance on the Ragusans, in spite of the
Senate’s protestations that the Archbishop had acted entirely on his
own responsibility. They were partially appeased by the arrest and
punishment of one Pozza, who had actually executed the Archbishop’s
orders, but Venetian ships continued to harry the Ragusan coast for
some time, inflicting much damage.[460] This same year (1538) the
Pope Paul III., as head of the Christian League against the Turks,
issued a decree, probably inspired by the Venetians, hostile to the
Ragusans, forbidding all Christians to sell them arms, gunpowder,
cables, ship-timber, iron, &c., because they were supposed to sell
these articles to the Turks. He also ordered the Republic to shake off
all allegiance to the Sultan, to cease to pay him tribute, and to join
the League against the Infidel at once, contributing five galleys and
10,000 ducats to the common war chest. The citizens were filled with
consternation at these peremptory commands, but the Senate sent one of
its cleverest diplomatists, Clemente Ragnina, to Rome, and he proved
equal to the emergency. Ragusa, he informed His Holiness, was situated
between the Turks and the sea, and would, if she joined the League,
be the first to fall a victim to the wrath of the Infidel. Owing,
moreover, to the small extent of her territory, she was dependent
for three-quarters of the year on foreign grain, which came mostly
from the Turkish provinces; she could not, therefore, exist without
intercourse with her neighbours. The only result of Ragusa’s joining
the alliance would be the destruction of the city, with her churches,
her convents and monasteries, and all her precious sacred relics would
fall into the hands of the Infidel, without any advantage accruing
to Christendom thereby. The astute Ragnina hinted that the Venetians
were merely urging the Pope to take measures against Ragusa out of
jealousy. These arguments had the desired effect, the Pope relenting
towards the Republic and exempting it from joining the League, to the
great satisfaction both of the Government and the citizens. There is no
doubt that their position was always a very risky one, and it required
all their diplomatic tact to save them from ruin. They were literally
between the devil and the deep sea, but they always managed to steer a
clear course between the many dangers which beset them.
But although they were on good terms with the Sultan, there was also
danger to be apprehended from the turbulent Pashas and Sandjakbegs of
Bosnia and the Herzegovina. Many of these men were the descendants of
the lawless native princelings who had gone over to Islam, and still
maintained their old ambition to win their way to the seaboard. The
whole country of Dalmatia was now threatened. Clissa, Poljica, and
even Montenegro had to pay tribute to the Turks after 1515. In 1522
Knin, the chief Croat fortress in the country, surrendered to the
Pasha of Bosnia, and Scardona was also occupied. Sinj, Vrlika, Nučak,
and Clissa fell in 1536, and the castles of Vrana and Nadin in 1538.
The Turkish fortress of Castelnuovo was captured by the Venetians and
Spaniards in that year, but in 1539 it was attacked by the pirate
Haireddin Barbarossa and recaptured, the Spanish garrison being put
to the sword. It is said that some Ragusan vessels took part in the
siege, thus contributing to the success of the Turks, and that the
Republic sent presents to Barbarossa so as to induce him to respect
their territory. There now remained no part of Dalmatia under a
Christian Government except the Venetian coast towns and the Ragusan
State. On the whole, the Republic found the Turks in some ways less
objectionable neighbours than the Christian Powers, especially the
Venetians. In 1538 the allied fleet under the command of Grimani, the
Venetian Patriarch, sailed down the Adriatic and touched at the Isola
di Mezzo; a part of the squadron proceeded to Ragusavecchia, where
it was received with great honour by the citizens, but some vessels
remained at the island and sacked it, took 170 prisoners, including the
Count, and did much damage to property. The Ragusan Senate protested
to the Patriarch, who had all the prisoners liberated, the stolen
property restored, and compensation paid. A certain number of Ragusans
were detained as rowers, but at good salaries, and thirteen Ragusan
ships were pressed into the Spanish service. The fleet then sailed
southwards, and encountered the Turks off Prevesa; the engagement
proved undecisive, but the honours of the day remained with the
Turks. It was then proposed to attack Castelnuovo. The Venetian and
Pontifical admirals objected, and suggested that Ragusa should be
attacked instead, as she had shown herself so friendly to the enemy.
But Doria, the Genoese admiral, and Don Ferrante Gonzaga refused to
make war on a Christian city, and the Castelnuovo plan was adhered to.
Thirteen thousand troops and 22 guns were disembarked, and an assault
delivered by land and sea. The walls were soon battered down, and the
town captured, the Sandjakbeg escaping with 200 horse. One hundred
Ragusans fell in the attack. The Republic sent envoys to the Christian
force with provisions, and requested the leaders not to invade Ragusan
territory. This was promised, but nevertheless a Spanish column which
was raiding the country round Castelnuovo also sacked Canali, carrying
off 17,000 head of cattle, outraging many women, “and generally
behaving worse than the Turks.” The Republic protested against these
proceedings, and Doria, with whom it was on friendly terms, sent the
engineer Mastro Antonio Ferramolino of Bergamo to Ragusa to strengthen
the fortifications of the town. Under his supervision the Torre Menze
or Minćeta, the bastion outside the walls under the Monte Bergato to
guard the harbour, and the town gate close by were built. On the latter
the following inscription was placed:
“Este procul sævi: nullum hæc per sæcula Martem
Castra timent sancti, quæ fovet aura senis.”
Ferramolino remained four months at Ragusa, and refused all payment
for his services; but the Senate presented him on his departure with a
gift of plate and a fine horse, and conveyed him to Sicily on a Ragusan
galley.[461]
The following year Barbarossa determined to recapture Castelnuovo,
which was defended by 4000 picked Spanish troops and 54 guns. A first
attempt from the land side in January failed; but in July Barbarossa
entered the Bocche with 200 galleys, and after a series of engagements
succeeded in landing an army and 84 guns. The Ragusans sent envoys
to him with presents, and, it is said, ships and ammunition, in
recognition of which he strictly respected the Republic’s territory.
On August 7 an assault was delivered, and the first line of defence
broken; on the 10th a second took place, and the Governor, Don
Francisco Sarmiento, surrendered with his few survivors. According to
Razzi[462] they were all put to the sword; but Professor Stanley Lane
Poole says that the capitulation was honourably respected.[463] Three
thousand Spaniards fell in the siege and 8000 Turks (50,000, according
to Razzi).
Ragusan trade was now in a somewhat depressed condition owing to these
various disturbances. Many Ragusan ships in the Spanish service had
been lost in the expedition to Algiers,[464] and the pirates under
Dragut Reis wrought much havoc among their ships elsewhere. While
the Emperor Ferdinand was invading the Hungarian provinces occupied
by the Turks, the Ragusan factories there suffered considerably; and
the land trade was disturbed by the depredations of the Sandjakbeg
of the Herzegovina. In 1544 the bankruptcies at Ragusa amounted to
80,000 ducats.[465] In 1545 peace was made between the Sultan and the
Christian Powers, and the former issued severe injunctions to the
Algerine corsairs not to molest ships flying the Ragusan flag. In the
somewhat quieter period which followed, there was a partial revival of
the city’s trade, which now extended to America by means of the favour
of Spain. But in 1566 Suleiman the Magnificent died, and his successor,
Selim the Drunkard, at once began to cast covetous eyes on Cyprus,
instigated, it is said, by a Jew named Nassi, who had given him a
glowing description of the Cyprian vintages.[466] War between the Turks
and the Christian Powers was again imminent, and Ragusa began to fear
that she might get into difficulties with either of the belligerents.
She therefore applied to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, with whom she was
then on excellent terms,[467] and he recommended them to the King of
Spain on the plea that if their trade failed so would the greater part
of their income cease, and they would be unable to pay the tribute to
the Sultan. The latter would seize on this as a pretext for occupying
the city, to the great detriment of Christendom.[468] The plea was
successful, and, moreover, the same year Pius V. renewed the exemption
to trade with the Infidel, because the city “in faucis infidelium
et loco admodum periculoso sita est.” Ragusa now acted once more as
intermediary between Christian and Turk, and obtained the liberation of
many Venetians and Dalmatian prisoners captured by the Turkish pirate
Ali-el-Uluj, or Occhiali as the Christians called him.[469] In spite of
the citizens’ not altogether undeserved reputation for double-dealing,
they were also true to their better reputation for hospitality.
Their hospitality towards the Papal admiral Marc’ Antonio Colonna
and the Venetian general Sforza Pallavicini, who were shipwrecked on
the Ragusan coast in 1570, won them the gratitude of the Pope and of
Venice.[470] Francesco Tron, who was pursued by Turkish corsairs,
took refuge in the harbour of Gravosa, and in spite of the threats of
the pirate commander the Senate refused to give him up. Finally they
bought off the cousin with a sum of money, but he sacked the monastery
of Lacroma. Complaints were sent to Constantinople, and the Sultan
delivered up the pirate Karakosia to the Ragusan Government to do what
it pleased with him; but it was deemed best to set him at liberty with
a warning. It was justified in its clemency, for in future none of
his ships ever harmed a Ragusan. Venetian intrigues again threatened
the Republic’s independence, and during the negotiations for a new
Christian League it required all the diplomatic skill and eloquence of
Francesco Gondola, the Ragusan ambassador in Rome, to save the city
from destruction. In a despatch to the Senate, dated April 1, 1570, he
wrote as follows:—
“This war gives food for reflection to the thoughtful, especially with
regard to the State of Ragusa, considering the capital malignity of
the Venetians against us; it is recorded and confirmed that at the
war of Castelnuovo in 1539 they tried to induce Andrea Doria, general
of the Emperor (Charles V.), to capture Ragusa before aught else; and
they were so keen on this proposal, that they only gave way when Doria
opposed an absolute refusal. He informed them that the Emperor had
expressly recommended the said Republic to him, and enjoined him to
protect it and guard it in the same manner as the cities of his own
kingdom of Naples.... Upon these words the Venetians abandoned their
project; but it is believed that our country may suffer much, and that
this war will not end without many tribulations.” On April 8 he added:
“The Emperor’s ambassador in Rome has been informed from Venice that
the Senate has determined to place a garrison in Ragusa, so that the
Turks may not occupy the city; and that if the Republic refuses to
admit it, they have decided to seize it by force, which means that they
wish to capture the town with the excuse of preventing the Turks from
doing so, in order that Christendom may not be shocked (‘perchè la
Christianità non strilli’).” The Spanish and Imperial ambassadors took
the side of the Ragusans, and the Pope also favoured them, the Venetian
representative alone declaring that “it was right that the League
should not only burn the city of Ragusa, but raze it to the ground and
destroy its people, so that their seed should not be found anywhere.”
On June 27 he wrote as follows:—
“I have been to His Holiness, who had requested that your Lordships
should provide him not with one ship, as Cardinal Rusticucci had said,
but with many, so that he may transport his troops on them. I replied
that on the previous evening Cardinal Rusticucci had spoken to me in
his name, and added that I had written to your Lordships ... and that
you hoped that as His Holiness had liberated you from so many troubles
in the past, he would take care that you are preserved, nor will he
permit that his many benefits to you be turned to your ruin. I informed
him how, after the Maltese war, Piali had come with his fleet to Ragusa
and threatened your Lordships because some of your vessels had been
with the Spanish fleet, and swore that if a similar offence were again
committed he would come to your destruction.” The Pope was convinced
by these arguments and withdrew his demand for a Ragusan contingent,
and made the other allied Powers realise the Republic’s danger. Venice
alone remained obdurate, and continued to repeat “ceterum censeo
Carthaginem esse delendam.” She believed that the only way of saving
Ragusa from all danger on the part of the Turks was to occupy the town
herself.
On June 28 Gondola suggested that the Senate should send an ambassador
to the King of Spain requesting him, in memory of their ancient
fidelity to his predecessors, to place the Republic officially under
his own protection, because although the Pope was friendly, he was old
and in bad health, and if he were to die the Venetians might seize the
opportunity to molest the city. This advice was followed, and in the
treaty of alliance the little Republic received the joint protection of
Christendom, a clause being inserted in it to the effect that “no acts
of hostility are to be committed against Ragusa and its territory, the
Pope for weighty reasons having so decreed.” Thus by her successful
diplomacy Ragusa was under the ægis of seven different Powers—Spain,
the Papacy, the Empire, Venice, Hungary, the Turks, and the Barbary
Deys—whence its citizens earned the sobriquet of “Le Sette Bandiere”
(the Seven Standards); and although subsequently they often were in
difficulties with some of their protectors, they could always play the
one off against the other. This was the secret of their long-continued
independence.
[Illustration: FORTE SAN LORENZO]
Although the Republic remained officially neutral in the war of
Lepanto, numbers of Ragusan merchants and adventurers took advantage
of it to make their own fortunes, many of them obtaining contracts for
transporting troops, or hiring out their ships and crews. During the
early part of the war Ragusan shipping suffered some damage, being
plundered now by the Turks and now by the Christians, in spite of the
treaty of protection; and as it was even feared that the city itself
might be in danger, it was decided to strengthen the fortifications. An
addition had been made to them in 1550-1558, when the large Forte San
Giovanni was built; while the port was enlarged and improved with a new
pier called the Diga delle Casse, constructed under the superintendence
of Pasquale da Nola. In 1570 the Tower of Santa Margherita was begun
by Sigismondo Hier;[471] and soon after Saporoso Matteucci, one of
Piero Strozzi’s ablest pupils, was appointed commander of the garrison
and director of fortifications. Santa Margherita was the last building
erected from the foundations; subsequent additions were merely
restorations, and the defences of the city have remained practically
unaltered since that time.[472]
The following year the battle of Lepanto was fought, in which the
Turkish fleet was completely defeated. From this moment the decline
of the Ottoman power may be said to begin. It is asserted that Ragusan
galleys were found on both sides in this fight. Afterwards the city
became the meeting-place for the Christian and Turkish commanders
to arrange for the exchange of prisoners and the preliminaries of
peace. Numbers of illustrious foreigners from all countries filled the
town, and according to Appendini, sixty noble Christian captives were
exchanged for an equal number of Turkish officers. But the Republic’s
equivocal attitude during the war caused trouble with the Sandjakbeg
of the Herzegovina, who in 1572 made various raids into the territory,
laying waste some districts and carrying off many captives. Turkish
pirates landed at Meleda and massacred all the monks, save those who
took refuge in the caves.[473] At last, in 1573, a general peace was
concluded, much to the disgust of the Venetians, who saw that in spite
of the victory over the Turks it was not properly followed up, and the
enemy was allowed to recuperate. Ragusa, however, was delighted, for
the peace removed her dangers from both quarters. But even this spell
of quiet was destined to be short-lived, and now began a series of
calamities culminating in the great earthquake of 1667, which brought
about the gradual decline of the Republic.
The Reformation had some slight effect at Ragusa about this time, and
during the archbishopric of Crisostomo Calvino (the name is a curious
coincidence) some preachers were permitted to censure the loose
morals of the clergy and even advocate changes in the statutes of the
Church. But the movement was short-lived, and the Senate had the books
of the Ragusan Matteo Flacco (born in 1520), who was suspected of
heresy, burnt by the public executioner. After the death of Crisostomo
in 1575 the Jesuits, who had made their first appearance in 1559 as
missionaries, established themselves permanently and set up a college
and a church. Thus all traces of Protestantism were stamped out.
A new disturbance was now caused by the Uskoks, a gang of Christian
pirates. Originally these men were refugees from the lands occupied
by the Turks. Many, as we have seen, settled at Ragusa and in other
Dalmatian towns; but wherever they were they revenged themselves on the
usurpers by raiding their territory, plundering their caravans, and
keeping up a constant guerilla warfare on the frontiers. Clissa became
their chief stronghold, whence they conducted operations against the
Infidel; but when, in 1537, the Turks besieged and captured it, the
Uskoks were forced to fly once more. The Emperor Ferdinand gave them a
refuge at Segna (Zengg) in the Quarnero, a town protected on the land
side by impassable mountains and forests. From Segna they continued
their raids into Turkish territory, and also began operations by sea.
The place soon became a refuge for outlaws of all nations, and the
Uskoks ended by becoming as notorious pirates as the Narentans had been
of old. They were always a trouble to the Ragusans, sometimes because
they captured their galleys, and sometimes because by attacking the
Turks they involved the Republic in difficulties with the Porte, who
accused it of protecting the freebooters because they were Christians.
In 1577 numbers of them were still hanging about in the Dalmatian
mountains, and made raids as far as Trebinje, while others from Segna
harried Turkish merchantmen. They professed to regard the Ragusans
as vassals of the Sultan, and plundered their ships too; but the
latter were able to give as hard knocks as they received, and in one
encounter killed one of the Uskok leaders. Peace was restored through
the mediation of Austria under whose protection the Uskoks were. But
the Turks persisted in regarding the Ragusans as the accomplices of
the pirates, and again the Sandjakbeg threatened to lay waste their
territory. On the land side the Republic was vulnerable, while on the
sea her shipping had suffered heavily in the Spanish wars. The incident
ended in the Ragusans bribing the enemy into a more reasonable attitude.
In 1602 the inhabitants of the island of Lagosta revolted against
Ragusan authority, because they complained that their ancient liberties
guaranteed to them in the act of submission had been violated. The
Ragusan count was driven out, and the islanders raised the banner
of St. Mark and asked to be placed under Venetian protection. This
was accorded, and a Venetian garrison landed on the island. Long
negotiations ensued, and at last Lagosta was given back to Ragusa, but
on very onerous conditions.[474]
In 1617-18 Ragusa was involved in the quarrels between Venice and
Spain, which culminated in the famous Spanish conspiracy. The
Venetians had been carrying on operations against the Uskoks since
the end of the sixteenth century. The Provveditore Tiepolo took and
destroyed Scrissa (on the site of the modern Carlopago) and hanged all
the garrison. On his death he was succeeded in the command by Bembo,
who, with a fleet of fifteen galleys and thirty long barques, manned
by 800 soldiers, blockaded Trieste and Fiume, so as to bring pressure
to bear on the Archduke of Austria. He also shut up 700 Uskoks in the
harbour of Rogoznica. But on a stormy night they managed to escape, and
Bembo, weary and disgusted, resigned his commission. His successor,
Giustiniani, did some damage to the freebooters, and negotiations
between Venice and Austria were commenced with a view to putting an end
to their depredations. But nothing came of the discussions, and the
Uskoks’ sack of Trebinje nearly involved Venice as well as Ragusa in
a new Turkish war. In 1614 the Uskoks waylaid the Venetian Cristoforo
Venier on his ship at Pago, murdered the officers and crew, and carried
Venier himself to Segna, where they cut off his head and banqueted with
it on the table, dipping their bread in his blood. Austria did nothing,
and the pirates made fresh raids into Istria and the Venetian islands.
The Venetians bombarded and captured Novi, and war broke out with
Austria, which lasted until the Peace of Madrid in 1617. By this treaty
Venice, Austria, and Spain bound themselves to remove the Uskoks to
the interior of Croatia. A Venetian squadron sailed down the Adriatic,
and with the pretext of capturing the Uskok galleys, anchored in the
harbour of Gravosa, and blockaded Ragusa itself, which was defended
by Marino Vodopić with a small body of Hungarian mercenaries. The Duke
of Ossuna, the Spanish Viceroy of Naples, undertook the protection of
Spain’s old ally, and sent a squadron up the Adriatic with the object
of attacking Venice and co-operating in the Bedmar conspiracy. The
plot was discovered and the fleet failed in its main object, but it
succeeded in forcing the Venetians to abandon Gravosa. This, however,
caused the Turks to accuse the Ragusans of having allied themselves
with Spain to the detriment of the Ottoman Empire. At the same time
certain persons whispered accusations of double-dealing against the
Ragusans in the Spanish court itself. Venice nursed a resentment
against the Ragusans for having been on good terms with Spain at the
time of the conspiracy, and indulged in a “policy of pin-pricks”
towards the little Republic. The latter also suffered annoyances from
the Pashas of Bosnia, who were always imposing extortionate duties on
Ragusan goods, and arresting Ragusan merchants as they passed through
the country. These turbulent viceroys had to be pacified with presents
and heavy bribes. When in 1647 the war of Candia broke out between the
Venetians and the Turks, Ragusa feared that she too would be involved
in the conflict, and appealed to the Pope for protection. But this
time she succeeded in maintaining a neutral attitude without being
molested, the Sultan’s plan for concentrating his troops at Ragusa for
an invasion of Dalmatia having been luckily abandoned.
During the quieter period after 1631 the Ragusans turned their
attention once more to the development of their commerce, but they
discovered that the conditions were entirely changed from what they
were a hundred, or even fifty, years previously. The whole of the
Atlantic and East Indian trade was divided between the English and the
Dutch, and such of the Mediterranean trade as was not also in their
hands was in those of the Venetians. The Ragusan merchant navy had been
for the most part lost in the service of Spain or captured by pirates,
and a large proportion of their seamen killed in battle or drowned.
Their shipping was therefore reduced to little more than a few coasting
vessels, and the Republic’s only resource was now the land trade with
Bosnia and the Herzegovina. But that too was less brisk than it used
to be, as the general trade of the Balkans was tending more and more
to follow the Budapest, Belgrad, and Sofia highway to Constantinople
instead of the Adriatic routes. Decadence was setting in throughout
Dalmatia, and the halcyon days of the Republic of Ragusa had passed
away. The Italian trade now consisted of little more than the transport
of grain necessary for the feeding of the inhabitants, and the Italian
colony was very small. Few families from Italy, or even from other
parts of Dalmatia and the Herzegovina, came to settle at Ragusa as
heretofore. The old families were declining in wealth and activity,
while a few newer ones from the neighbourhood monopolised the little
trade that survived. On the other hand, luxury increased, public and
private festivities became more frequent and more magnificent, so as
to hide the symptoms of decadence, and the old accumulations of wealth
were gradually squandered away. The old social distinctions, however,
were kept up with even greater strictness, and the hereditary nobility
continued to remain absolutely separate from all meaner mortals. The
arts, too, languished, and no more fine buildings arose. The decline of
Ragusa bears a striking similarity to that of Venice.
In 1667 a calamity befell the city which for a brief space made the
name of Ragusa ring throughout the civilised world. As I have said,
the citizens had had a foretaste of it in the small earthquake shocks
which from time to time occurred; the most formidable of them had been
that of 1520. But the worst was now to come. On Wednesday, April 6,
1667, in the early morning, when most of the inhabitants had either
just risen or were attending early Mass in the churches, “there came
from below ground a horrible and dreadful earthquake, which in a few
moments destroyed the Rector’s Palace, the Rector himself (Ghetaldi)
being killed, and all the other palaces, churches, monasteries, and
houses in the city, everything being subverted, 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
flames burst forth naturally from the timber fallen from the ruins
into the kitchen fires; the fire lasted several days, causing much
suffering to the few survivors of this horrible disaster. These are
not more than 600, besides 25 nobles, 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_ (custom house),
and the lazaret 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, and even five days in that terrible
condition.”[475]
[Illustration: GARDEN NEAR RAGUSA]
Another misfortune was added to these by the depredations of the
neighbouring peasants and Morlachs who came pouring into the town, and
it is said that even some of the citizens took part in the plunder,
profiting by the wild confusion. According to Professor Gelcich, the
fire was caused by incendiaries with the same purpose.[476] A large
part of the Cathedral treasury was looted, and many of the sacred
relics disappeared, although some of them were subsequently recovered.
That the plundering was not more general was due to the efforts of two
patriotic nobles, Biagio Caboga and Michele Bosdari, who armed bodies
of their own peasantry and retainers, and kept watch over the ruined
churches and public buildings. There was a regular battle between a few
nobles and their suites and a horde of freebooters for the possession
of the treasury. The latter were finally beaten off, and the State
coffers and archives saved. The relics and the remains of the Cathedral
treasure were removed to a chapel in the Dominican monastery, which was
bricked up, only a barred window being left open so that the people
might assure themselves of their existence and worship them.[477] The
State treasure was removed to the Leverone fort, where the surviving
nobles gathered together and constituted a provisional Government of
twelve Senators. The situation appeared hopeless. “The city,” wrote
the Abate Bosdari, “was so completely buried in the stones and rubbish
of the ruined houses that every one gave up all idea of ever making
it habitable again. The stench from the burnt or decaying corpses was
so overpowering that it caused many people to suffer from nausea;
and no one dared venture to the spot where he had lost his property,
his relatives, and almost his own life, especially as other slight
earthquake shocks were felt from time to time. Wherefore many of the
most influential personages declared it to be necessary to change the
site of the town, and they proposed that of Lapad as being the most
convenient. This opinion was supported by the attractiveness of the
position, its proximity to a harbour capable of sheltering many fleets,
and the pure and more open air, and it would obviate the necessity of
spending large sums in removing the rubbish.”[478]
Ragusa was not alone in her calamity; many places in the immediate
neighbourhood had suffered considerably. The houses and churches of
the Isola di Mezzo were all in ruins, as may be seen to this day,
and many of the inhabitants were killed.[479] Stagno too was much
damaged, and in the rest of Dalmatia the earthquake was equally severe.
At Cattaro, according to Professor Gelcich, the ruin was even more
widespread than at Ragusa itself.
In the meanwhile the news of this disaster had spread all over Europe,
and help began to arrive from various quarters. The Empire, France,
Spain, and several of the Italian States sent contributions in money,
building materials, and men to help clear away the ruins. The Pope
was the first in the field, and sent a body of troops to maintain
order, and Giulio Cerruti, the engineer of Castel Sant’ Angelo.[480]
The latter was sent to report on the advisability of transferring the
population and the seat of the Government to Gravosa, but although
he declared that that spot was very suitable, the majority of the
survivors were still too much attached to their old home, ruined as
it was, to desire to settle elsewhere. The proposal was dropped, and
in fact, when the citizens came to take stock of the situation, they
found that things were not quite so hopeless as they had at first
appeared. Some five thousand people had been killed, but there must
have been more survivors than the 625 mentioned by the anonymous author
of the _Relatione_, if we accept Razzi’s estimate of the population
at 30,000 in 1578. It may have decreased to some extent during the
ensuing ninety years, but even in 1667 it must have been much more
than 5600.[481] The damage done to the buildings was less than might
have been expected. It is true that the Venetian Provveditore of
Cattaro, who happened to be at Gravosa at the time, wrote that “with
the exception of the public granary, the dogana, the fortifications,
and the lazarets, all the buildings, both public and private, including
the Palace, the churches, and the monasteries, were ruined and
destroyed”; while Vitale Andriasci stated that “nothing of the city
remained standing but the fortresses and the circuit of the walls,
which were injured in many places, and a few dismantled houses.”
But these writers were probably excited by the awful spectacle and
fell into exaggeration. The Duomo was so greatly damaged that it was
necessary to rebuild it from the foundations. The upper story of the
Rector’s Palace was severely, but not hopelessly, injured. The church
of San Biagio suffered considerably, but survived until destroyed by
fire forty years later. The Dominican and Franciscan monasteries,
including their towers, remained almost intact; while the Sponza, the
clock-tower, the churches of St. Nicholas, the Ascension, St. Luke, the
Saviour, the Annunciation, the granaries, the lazarets, &c., were in no
worse condition. Of the private dwellings, those in the Stradone all
fell down, and were rebuilt later; but many of those on the slopes of
the Monte Sergio survived, as is proved by the numbers of fragments of
Venetian Gothic which may be seen to this day. The general aspect of
Ragusa is thus fortunately still what it was before the calamity.
The work of rebuilding the city on its ancient site was at once
commenced, and the damages repaired. The Republic survived the
earthquake for nearly 150 years more, and although it was not the
Ragusa of the sixteenth century, it enjoyed intervals of revived
prosperity, and even of political importance, from time to time. But
the days for city-republics were gone for ever, and the existence of
Ragusa during the eighteenth century can only be regarded as a relic of
the past.