lgrad, is some eighteen miles down the
coast. Here Coloman of Hungary, nephew of S. Ladislas, was crowned in
1102. The "porto d'oro" is all that remains of a palace built by Bishop
Valaresso, with its foundations in the sea. Mention of the place is
infrequent. Towards the middle of the eleventh century Crescimeno
Pietro, third king of Croatia, assigned a prebend to the Benedictines of
Zara Vecchia. In 1092 Busita, daughter of Roger I., Count of Sicily and
Durazzo, and wife of Coloman, king of Hungary, came here accompanied by
Geoffrey Malaterra. In 1114 Ordelaffo Faliero took it, and in 1115 it
was destroyed to the foundations by Domenico Michieli. Some of the
inhabitants, with the bishop and clergy, fled to Scardona; the rest,
with the notables, to Sebenico. The nuns escaped to Zara, and the
Benedictines crossed to Tkon in the island of Pasman, where they still
are.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Mgr. Bianchi has found the names of Madius and Zella in
documents of 1067 and 1096, and that of "Sergius tribunus" in one of
1091.]

XIX

SEBENICO

Sebenico lies within a fine harbour at the mouth of the Kerka, some six
hours from Zara. The entrance to the bay is defended by the strong fort
S. Nicolo, which bears the lion of S. Mark upon the landward side,
showing that Venice ruled when it was built in 1540 (according to
tradition, from Sanmichele's designs), though the actual sculpture is a
replacement of 1824 of the original thrown into the sea by the French in
1813. During the Italian struggle for freedom and unity many patriots
were shut up in the damp dungeons of this fort by the Austrians. Within
the strait, the Canale di S. Antonio, there is shelter for a large
fleet; and it is reported that the Austrian Government intends to make
it into a naval arsenal (of which the commencement may be seen in some
very ugly buildings to the left of the town). Sebenico is commanded by
three castles, from the highest of which, that of S. Giovanni,
constructed in 1646, a splendid view over town, bay, and islands rewards
the labour of the climb. The next is Fort Barone, so named after Baron
Degenfeldt, the gallant defender of the city against 20,000 Turks in
1647. It is now abandoned and in ruins. The third is Fort S. Anna, which
crowns the hill just above the houses. This is thought to occupy the
site of a king's castle mentioned in 1066. Fort S. Giovanni and the
walls, of which a great portion of the circuit still remains, we