ay, and so to the church. The church of the
deserted Franciscan convent is now used as the parish church. It is a
building of the latter part of the fifteenth century, and contains some
fine carved stalls of the usual type, and a fine altar-piece by Nicolaus
Raguseus, 9 ft. high, and with an arched top. God the Father is
enthroned above, surrounded by angels with the instruments of the
Passion. The five panels in the upper row show the Angel of the
Annunciation, S. Blaise, Christ with the Cross, and half-figures of S.
Anthony and the Virgin. The centre subject is rather broader. Below it
is a later painted wood carving of the Madonna and Child. The panels at
the sides have figures of SS. Roch and John the Baptist, Francis and
Catherine. The frame is carved and painted blue, and gilded. There is
another picture by the same artist in S. Nicholas, which was the
Dominican church--an Annunciation, dated March 16, 1513, with a predella
of five subjects, a praying Dominican, a Nativity of Christ, a galley in
the harbour of Mezzo, the Adoration of the Magi, and the entrance of the
Dominicans into the cloister. A good campanile still remains, though the
cloister is ruined. There are several chapels in the place, also
roofless and in ruins, and two ruined castles.

A Captain Pracat, who left 200,000 ducats to the Republic of Ragusa, and
who was honoured with a half-length figure set up in the court of the
Rector's Palace in 1638, was a native of Mezzo. A towel given him by the
Emperor Charles V. is preserved at Mezzo, together with some church
plate of unusual design. The chalice is a mixture of late Gothic and
early Renaissance in character, with two little angels, now wingless,
holding to its edge, and treading with one foot on the knop, thus
forming handles. It is so large as to recall the ancient ministerial
chalices. Medallions with the Evangelists' symbols ornament the bowl,
with scroll-work between; the knop is covered with similar ornament, and
on the foot is a full-length figure of S. Blaise. An ostensory has the
same detail of the flying angels, and there is also a large paten with
Christ as the Man of Sorrows on a blue enamel ground.

The island of Lacroma is beyond Ragusa, and can be easily visited from
that place. It is the last Austrian island of any importance, and will
be described in the next chapter.

XXIII

RAGUSA

Ragusa is one of the most charming spots in Dalmatia, and one can quite
understand