Maximian in A.D. 304. The cathedral, erected in honour of
this saint, is one of the finest and best-preserved Lombardo-Romanesque
churches of the 11th-13th centuries in north Italy. The upper part of the
facade is incomplete, but the lower, with its three portals and
sculptures, is very fine; the interior is simple and well-proportioned,
and has not been spoilt by restorations. For the _benitier_, a work of
the early 11th century, see _Rassegna d'Arte_, 1905, 180. Not far from
the town is the small church of S. Antonio del Viennese, a 13th-century
structure in brick (_ib_., 1906, 22). The Palazzo Comunale, in the
Gothic-Lombard style, is a work of the 14th century. Borgo S. Donnino is
an important centre for the produce and cattle of Emilia. (T. As.)

BORGU, or BARBA, an inland country of West Africa. The western part is
included in the French colony of Dahomey (q.v.); the eastern division
forms the Borgu province of the British protectorate of Nigeria. Borgu
is bounded N.E. and E. by the Niger, S. by the Yoruba country, N.W. by
Gurma. The country consists of an elevated plain traversed by rivers
draining north or east to the Niger. The water-parting between the Niger
basin and the coast streams of Dahomey and Lagos runs north-east and
south-west near the western frontier. In about 10 deg. N., below the
town of Bussa, rapids block the course of the Niger, navigable up to
that point from the sea. The soil is mostly fertile, and is fairly
cultivated, producing in abundance millet, yams, plantains and limes.
The acacia tree is common, and from it gum-arabic of good quality is
obtained. From the nut of the horse-radish tree ben oil is expressed.
Cattle are numerous and of excellent breed, and game is abundant. Borgu
is inhabited by a number of pagan negro tribes, several of whom were
dependent on the chief of Nikki, a town in the centre of the country,
the chief being spoken of as sultan of Borgu. The king of Bussa was
another more or less powerful potentate. In the early years of the 19th
century Borgu was invaded by the Fula (q.v.), but the Bariba (as the
people are called collectively) maintained their independence. In 1894
Borgu became the object of rivalry between France and England. The Royal
Niger Company, which had already concluded a treaty of protection with
the king of Bussa, sent out Captain (afterwards Sir) F.D. Lugard to
negotiate treaties with the king of Nikki and other chiefs, and Lugard
succeeded