A QUAINT COSTUME, TRAÙ
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 Sućurac 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.
THE QUAY, CASTEL VECCHIO
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.