﻿ISIGNY. 



ISTRIA. 



SOS 



gitater length than bieniUh ; it in like most aucient towns, ill-built, 

 with narrow winding streets, with the exception of that traversed by 

 the road from Lyoo to Marseille. It contains some Roman remains, 

 among others a temple now converted into a mnseum, a triumphal 

 arch, some vestiges of an amphitheatre on Mont-Pipet, and south of 

 the town, near the gate of Avignon, a pyramidal obelisk, called Plan- 

 de-1'Aiguille, which is 46 feet high, aud constructed with cut stone 

 without cement. The modern structures of most note are the fine 

 Cathedral of St-Ma<irice, the church and cloisters of the former 

 abbey of St.-Andi-i!-le-Bas, the cavalry barracks, the public library of 

 10,000 volumes, the college, which is one of the finest structures of 

 the kind left by the Jesuits, the hospitals for the sick and poor, the 

 corn-market, and the abattoir. The Gfere, which joins the Rhone at 

 Vienne, drives the machinery of several factories. This town is one 

 of the principal seats of the woo'len manufactures in the south of 

 France ; common cloth, pasteboard, soap, leather, glass bottles, paper, 

 chemical ]>roducts, &c., are also made; and there are establishments 

 for reeling aud throwing silk, dye-houses, iron furnaces, steel-works, 

 sheet-f'opper aud lead works, copper and brass foundries. The com- 

 merce of the town is composed of its industrial products, and of wine, 

 zinc, &c. Vienne formerly had an archbishop of its own ; but the 

 r.rchiepiscopal province is now united to that of Lyon. The railway 

 in course of construction from Lyon to Avignon passes through 

 Vienne. In the suburb of St.-C'olombe, on the right bank of the 

 Rh6ne, aud in the department of Rhdne, elands the old square tower 

 of Mauconseil, from which it is said Pontius Pihite precipitated him- 

 self into the river. Beaurepaire, 10 miles S.S.E. from Vienne, has 

 c'.nth-factories, com- and fulling-mills, and 2322 inhabitant.4 in the 

 cumiiiune. lja-C'6le-St.-Andre hinTiAa a.t ihi ioot at a hill, in a pretty 

 situation on the Frette, 21 miles S.E. from Vienne, and has 408.? 

 inhabitants, who manufacture liqueurs, pyroligneous aciil, wax-candles, 

 and {>latc-gla«s. Sl-Jean-de-Boui'nai/, 14 mileri E. from Vienne, on the 

 Veroime, a small ttrcam that drives the machinery of several factories 

 and then lu^cs itself underground, has 3492 inhabitants, who manu- 

 facture woollen plaids, beet-root sugar, and leather. 



The department forms the see of the Bishop of Grenoble ; is 

 included in the jurisdiction of the Hi;.'h Court of Grenoble, and 

 belongs to the 8th Military Division, of which Lyon is head-quarters. 

 It returns 4 members to the Legislative Body of the French Empire. 



{Vklionuaire ile la Franc(, Aitrmaire I'oar I' An 1863 ; Official 

 Papen, &c.) 



ISIGNY. [Calvados.] 



ISLA, or ISLAY, Ai-gyleahire, the most southern of the Hebrides, 

 au island in the Western Ocean, 15 miles \V. from Cantyre, and S.W. 

 from Jura, from which it is separated by a strait nearly two miles 

 ytide. It is 28 mile« long and about 18 miles broad, and is generally of a 

 mountainous character, especially towards th« north ; there is how- 

 ever much low and well-cultivated land. The population of the 

 island, which was 13,602 in 1841, was only 12,334 in 1851, the decrease 

 being acco'.tuted for in a great measure by emigration. The houses are 

 good, and the roads are in good repair. There are a few small lakes, 

 and the island is watered by several streams and rivulets, which 

 abound with trout and salmon. One of the chief productions is 

 whisky, which is exported from Port Askaig in the Sound of Jura, or 

 Port Ellen on the south-east coast of the island, at each of which 

 places are small harbours. 



Buwmore, population 1202, is a poet-town of the island, and the 

 leat of a sheriff small-debt court. Fort Askaig, aud Port Charlotte, 

 are also pott-towns. 



lalay poaaeasea steam communication with Glasgow by Campbeltown, 

 and a great many amall coasters belong to the island. Besides the 

 parish churches there are several chapels fur Free Church and Inde- 

 pendent congregations. 



ISLA DE LOS PINO.S. [Ccba.] 



ISLAMABAD. [Cashmere.] 



ISLE-ENJOURDAIN. [Uebs.] 



ISLE OF MAN. [Man, Isle op.] 



ISLE OF WIGHT. [Wioht, Isle op.] 



ISLE ROYALE. [Cape BBEroN.] 



ISLEWORTH. [Middlesex.] 



ISLINGTON. [Middlesex.] 



I.SMATL, or IZMAlL, a strongly fortified town of Russia in the 

 province of Bessarabia, is situated on the left bank of the northern or 

 Kills arm of the Danube, 20 miles E. from the mouth of the Pruth, 

 and about double that distance from the Black Sea, in 45° 21' N. hit., 

 28° 50' E. long., and has about 20,000 inhabitants. It was taken by 

 storm by the Russians under Suwarruff, Dec. 22, 1 790, when the Turkish 

 garrison numbering 30,000 m'.n were put to the sword ; the Russians 

 lost 20,000. Under the Turks Ismail was important not only in a 

 military but in a commercial point of view ; it contained 17 mosques, 

 a large number of khans and bazaars, and many splendid houses. On 

 its capture by the Russians all was put to fire and sword, and the 

 town remained in a ruinous condition till 1812, when it was ceded to 

 Russia by the treaty of Bukharest. Since then it has been rebuilt, 

 and DOW contains about 2300 houses and 1 2 churches. The Kilia aim 

 of the Danube is navigable for steamers and for vessels of considerable 

 burden, of which about 150 enter the harbour of Ismail annually, 

 and are chiefly tngaged in the corn trade. There are remains of a 



OEou. div. vol. ul 



fine Turkish palace in the town. Ismail is now chiefly of importance 

 in a military point of view, aud the Russiaus have rendered its defences 

 very strong. 



ISMID, or ISNIKMID. [Anatolia; Bithynia; Nicomedla.] 



ISMIR. [Smyrna.] 



ISNIK. [Nic.ea.] 



ISPAHAN. [Persia.] 



ISSOIKE. [Poy-de-D3me.] 



ISSOUDUN. [Indhe.] 



ISTRES. [BoucHES-Dn-RnoxE.] 



ISTRIA, or HISTRIA, a peninsula iu Austria projecting into the 

 Adriatic Sea from the former kingdom of Illyria, between the Bay of 

 Trieste on the west and the Gulf of Quarnero on the east. It U 

 nearly triangular in shape, the base or isthmus from near Capo 

 d'Istria to the head of the Gulf of Quarnero, a fejv miles west of 

 Fiume, measuring about 30 miles, and the altitude measured from a 

 point on the road between Trieste and Fiume, near 14° E. long., to 

 the Punta di Promontore, its must southern point, being 54 miles. 

 The greatest breadth of the peninsula is about 40 miles. Its total 

 area is stated to be 1900 square miles ; and its population, according 

 to the official estimate of the population of the Austrian empire for 

 1850-51, was 232,909. According to the new division of tliC'empiro 

 Istria is included in the Kiitlenland, or Maritime District, which 

 comprises also the circle of GolUTZ, aud the Territory, but not the 

 town, of Trieste. 



The country is in general mountainous. Towards the north it 

 embraces a jjortion of the hi;;h naked rocky district called Karat, 

 which is connected with the Julian Alps; and from this dreary region 

 a chain runs down the centre of the petiinsula, reaching its culmi- 

 nating point in the Monle Maggiore (4570 feet above the sea), aud 

 terminating in the Punta di Promontore. From the central chains, 

 which, as well as the whole peninsula, are of calcareous formation, 

 long ridges of hills radiate, gradually declining as they approach the 

 coast, which though hilly and rocky caimot be described as either 

 very high or bold, except along the Gulf of Quarnero, where it is 

 in parts precipitous. The western and southern coasts are indented by 

 deep inlets, which form excellent harbours : among these the b.asin of 

 Pola sheltered and landlocked on all sides, even towards the entrance, 

 where it is screened by the rocky Brioni Isles, has been celebrated in 

 all ages. The soil of the peninsula is dry, calcareous, and rocky, of 

 no great natural fertility, but well adapted for the growth of the 

 olive; and the oil of Istria has always been held iu high repute. A 

 little com, wine of excellent quality, lemons and other fruits, chest- 

 nuts, hazel-nuts, honey, and silk are also produced. A good many 

 cattle are reared on the mountain pastures. The principal minerals 

 are m.vble, freestone, alum, and coal. The Brioni Isles are famous 

 for their marble-quarries. The coast fisheries are profitable, and a 

 good deal of salt is made by evaporating the sea-water. The penin- 

 sula abounds with fine oak-timber. The climate is mild ; it is also 

 healthy, except in tho low grounds along the western coast, where 

 malai ia prevails at certain seasons. 



The calcareous rocks of which the peninsula is composed are scored 

 and furrowed by numerous glens and vales, but there are no rivers of 

 importance. Among its streams however may be mentioned : — tho 

 Aysa (the ancient Aysia), which flows south from the Monte Maggiore 

 through the Lake Zepich, aud enters an inlet of the (}ulf of Quarnero 

 to the west of the town of Albona ; the Quielo, which flows from the 

 central mountains westward, through a fine forest-country into the 

 Adriatic nearCitta-Nuova ; and the RUano (the ancient Formiu), which 

 enters the sea a little north of the town of Capo-d' Istria, and separates 

 Istria from the territory of Trieste, as it formerly did from Veuetia. 



Istria seems to have derived its name from a fabulous notion 

 entertained by the Greeks that an arm of the Danube (which they 

 called Ister) flowed into the Adriatic near the head of the peninsula. 

 The inhabitants belonged to the ancient Illyrian stock, and became 

 first known to the Romans by their piratical expeditions, for the 

 suppression of which the legions of Rome often invaded Istria in the 

 third and second centuries before Christ. The country was reduced 

 to subjection to Rome by Cains Claudius B.C. 177. Augustus 

 extended the limits of Ifcily so as to include all that part of Istria 

 west of the Arsa ; the remaining part, afterwards called East Istria, 

 was included in Libumia. The country remained subject to Rome 

 till the 6th century, wlien it was overrun by the Goths, from whom 

 it was taken by the Byzantine emperors. In the 10th and lltli 

 centuries Istria formed au earldom subject successively to the dukes 

 of Carinthia and Dalmatia. In 1204, on the outlawry of Henry duke 

 of Dalmatia, the Italian part of Istria fell to the Patriarch of Aquileia, 

 from whom it was taken by the Venetians, who held it till 1797. 

 East Istria, which formed the earliloiu of Mitterburg, belonged to 

 the counts of Giirz, from whom on failure of issue it passed to Austria 

 and was incorporated with Carinthia. By the treaty of Campo-Formio 

 the Venetian part of Istria also came into the possession of Austria ; 

 but she was obliged by the treaty of Presburg to cede the whole of 

 Istria, with the other Venetian provinces, to Napoleon 1. Istria was 

 then united to Illyria, and continued so until its restoration to 

 Austria in 1813. Subsequently, and up to 1849, Istria was included 

 in the government of Trieste. The inhabitants of the coa-st towns 

 are mostly of Itali.in orijjin, aud speak a dialect of Italian ; tho gieat 



