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 Trau are no earlier than the thirteenth century, and
only small portions of that date remain by the tower of the nuns of S.
Nicolo. 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,
podesta, was freed from the obligation of paving fifty paces of the
street between the two main gates, which was laid on every podesta, so
one may suppose that the paving was completed. In Venetian times Trau
had seven gates. Of these three remain--a plain pointed arch near S.
Nicolo, 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 podesta 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
sh