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A RECENT VISIT TO THE DALMATIAN COAST. 67 
the Renaissance without any intermediate Gothic stage, whilst on 
the other hand, in windows and doorways, the forms of Italian- 
Gothic came in and continued to exist up to a very late date. 
The cathedral of Ragusa dates back only to the year 1671, the 
older building having been completely destroyed in the great 
earthquake. The old cathedral was built about the beginning of 
the thirteenth century, and is said to have been founded by our 
Richard of the Lion Heart. It was for some time a matter of 
doubt amongst historians as to where Richard landed at the 
commencement of that eventful and romantic journey which 
placed him in the power of the Archduke of Austria. There are, 
however, documents in existence in Ragusa which prove that 
after leaving Corfu Richard was driven by stress of weather to the 
island of La Croma, lying just off Ragusa, and that as a thanks- 
giving for his preservation he destined 100,ooo marks for the 
rebuilding of the Benedictine Convent there. The Ragusans, 
however, persuaded him to alter his vow and found the church in 
Ragusa. This was the origin of the old cathedral, so completely 
destroyed by the earthquake of 1667. 
From Ragusa to Cattaro is a beautiful sail of about six hours. 
That great fringe of islands, with its long canal-like reaches of 
perfectly calm water, ceases to form a distinct physical feature of 
the coast south of Ragusa, and we are once more in the open 
Adriatic. 
Passing Ragusa, Vecchia, the ancient Epidaurus, we are at the 
entrance of one of the most remarkable natural inlets in the 
world, the celebrated Bocche di Cattaro, the Rhizonic Gulf of 
antiquity. It is a salt water loch, or fjord, consisting of three 
triangular shaped sheets of water connected by as many narrow 
deep channels, which are the ‘‘ Bocche,” or mouths of the inlet. 
Within the first ‘‘ mouth ” lies Castel Nuovo, built on a beautiful 
and well-wooded hill, and surrounded by ancient Turkish fortifi- 
cations, which, in their dismantled state, testify to the numerous 
sieges and earthquakes through which they have passed. There 
can be little doubt that the earthquakes of this region, to which I 
have already had occasion to refer when speaking of Ragusa, are 
