On other occasions we went by boat, reaching Spalato in the evening. After the Punta Planka, the ancient Promontorium Syrtis is passed, where the water is often rough, since there is no protecting screen of islands, the campanili and towers of Traù come into sight, between which and Bua there is a swing bridge across the channel. Beyond this the boat passes under the lee of Bua, on the shore of which is a solitary white monastery; whilst on the opposite shore the buildings of the Castelli throw long tremulous reflections across the water, and boats with sails painted in various colours and patterns pass to right and left, flushed with the rays of the setting sun, and leaving trails of light or dark behind them according as the water reflects the land or the sky. As the sun sinks lower, leaving the sea in shadow, the glow upon the hills becomes more and more roseate, till at last it fades, as the strait is passed and the harbour opens. The smoke from a cement factory hangs in the air like evening mists in an English valley; and, as we approach still nearer, the long line of buildings upon the quays, dominated by the great campanile and the colonnade of Diocletian's palace, gradually grows more impressive in the failing light.
THE PORTA MARINA AND CUSTOM HOUSE, TRAÙ
It is distinctly asserted by Strabo that Traù, the ancient Tragurium, was founded in the fourth century B.C.. by Greek Sicilians from Lissa. At a later date it was certainly a Roman colony. After the fall of the Western empire it was subject to the emperors of Byzantium, and for forty years or so in the ninth century to the Franks, after which Hungarians, Byzantines, Genoese, and Croats struggled for it, till in 1420 it was taken by Venice. Its first privilege was granted by Coloman of Hungary in 1108, renewed and amplified by Stephen in 1124, Geysa III. in 1151, and Bela III. in 1182. Bela IV., with his family, treasures, and a brilliant following, took refuge here in 1241 from the Tartar hordes. He was received with due honours, and conceded in return the confirmation of ancient privileges, &c. The city was mainly Slav during the Middle Ages, and, on the whole, was happy and peaceful under Hungarian rule, though sacked by the Saracens in 1123, and by the Venetians in 1194, under the leadership of Vitale Michiele. Between 1322 and 1358 it belonged to the Venetians.
Under Venetian rule the walls of Dalmatian cities, towards the sea were weak, and often formed merely by houses and towers belonging to private persons. Those of Traù are no earlier than the thirteenth century, and only small portions of that date remain by the tower of the nuns of S. Nicolò. In 1289 a wall was commenced round the suburbs; and Law XX. of the first book of the Statutes obliged each count to build ten "canne" of wall in the suburb each year, as Lucio states. Notwithstanding this regulation, it was not finished till 1404, and one tower even was not completed till 1412. The suburb was called Citta Nova, and the dividing wall was subsequently demolished. In 1290 Stefano d'Ugerio of Ancona, podestà, was freed from the obligation of paving fifty paces of the street between the two main gates, which was laid on every podestà, so one may suppose that the paving was completed. In Venetian times Traù had seven gates. Of these three remain—a plain pointed arch near S. Nicolò, the Porta Marina, and the Porta a Terra. This latter is also known as Porta S. Giovanni from the figure of S. Giovanni Orsino which crowns it, and before which a lamp continually burns. The gate is Renaissance, with the S. Mark's lion in an oblong panel above the arch. From the middle of the base of this panel a little cypress grew, which remained the same size for generations. The country people believed that its growth was due to the wonder-working power of the saint, and that its colour foretold scarcity or a fruitful year. When I was there the second time, in 1906, the podestà told me it had died. The sea gate is also Renaissance; from the jambs still hang the ancient doors thickly studded with iron nails, and behind the door is a S. Mark's lion with the book closed, though they say it was open till the fall of the Republic. Above the gate is another lion with an inscription of 1642. Close by is the custom-house, which groups picturesquely with the gateway.
The castle at the end of the quay, the Castel del Camerlengho, was built in 1424. It is very well preserved. The three smaller angle towers have been altered for cannon. It is now a store-house for sand and such things, with a small garden and a few almond-trees. In the corner is a little chapel nearly covered by the sand, and I was told there was a shallow cistern in the middle. The round tower to the north-west dates from 1378, when the Dalmatian towns were allied with Genoa against Venice, and Traù was the rendezvous. The walls are battlemented, the octagonal angle towers have had machicolations (tolerably well preserved on one of them), and above each of the two entrances is a projecting defensive work of the same kind.
THE PORTA S. GIOVANNI, TRAÙ
A few discoveries have been made of pre-mediæval things. In 1899, some half-mile towards Spalato, two terra-cotta urns were found, one of which had been mended with straps of lead. It contained seven bits of a statuette of Bacchus, which have been put together, and three bits of a larger figure. They are now in the museum at Spalato. In 1903, remains of an early church were excavated on the mainland, close to the wooden bridge which crosses the isolating arm of the sea, bringing to light a mosaic pavement, part of the apse, and one column. It was probably part of a cemetery basilica of the fifth or sixth century, just outside the ancient wall of Tragurium. Two Christian inscriptions of the fifth century have been found near, upon one of which are the words "sancta ecclesia"; and close by was discovered the torso of a prisoner of war, apparently Roman work. Close to the cistern is the reversed cover of an antique sarcophagus, and part of the front of another with a sixth-century cross. A curious custom still existing suggests a traditional memory of the site of the ancient cemetery. On Holy Thursday the Confraternity, after visiting the churches in the town, and that of the cemetery (about half a mile away), returns to the cistern, and, gathering round it, prays for the dead.
At one time there were twenty-one churches in the city. Those of S. Nicolò and S. Barbara are early. S. Nicolò (formerly S. Doimo) was founded in 1064 by Giovanni Orsini for ladies of noble descent, but little remains to show its age. There is said to be a Greek fragment of the third century B.C. in the court of the convent. Two early caps in the entrance portico appear to belong to the period of foundation.