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LESINA (Serbo-Croatian, Hvar)

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Originally appearing in Volume V16, Page 490 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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LESINA (Serbo-Croatian, Hvar) , an See also:island in the Adriatic See also:Sea, forming See also:part of See also:Dalmatia, See also:Austria. Lesina lies between the islands of Brazza on the See also:north and See also:Curzola on the See also:south; and is divided from the See also:peninsula of Sabbioncello by the Narenta channel. Its length is 41 m.; its greatest breadth less than 4 M. It has a steep rocky See also:coast with a See also:chain of thinly wooded See also:limestone hills. The See also:climate is mild, and not only the See also:grape and See also:olive, but See also:dates, See also:figs and the carob or See also:locust-See also:bean flourish. The cultivation of these fruits, See also:boat-See also:building, fishing and the preparation of See also:rosemary essence and See also:liqueurs are the See also:principal resources of the islanders. Lesina (Hvar) and Cittavecchia (Starigrad) are the principal towns and seaports, having respectively 2138 and 3120 inhabitants. Lesina, the See also:capital, contains an See also:arsenal, an See also:observatory and some interesting old buildings of the 16th See also:century. It is a See also:Roman See also:Catholic bishopric, and the centre of an administrative See also:district, which includes Cittavecchia, See also:Lissa, and some small neighbouring islands. Pop. (1900) of island 18.o91, of district 27,928. To the See also:primitive " Illyrian" See also:race, whose See also:stone cists and See also:bronze implements have been disinterred from barrows near the capital, may perhaps be attributed the " Cyclopean " walls at Cittavecchia.

About 385 B.C., a See also:

Greek See also:colony from See also:Paros built a See also:city on the site of the See also:present Lesina, naming it Paros or Pharos. The forms Phara, Pharia (See also:common among Latin writers), and Pityeia, also occur. In 229 B.C. the island was betrayed to the See also:Romans by See also:Demetrius, See also:lieutenant of the Illyrian See also:queen Teuta; but in 219, as Demetrius proved false to See also:Rome also, his capital was razed by See also:Lucius See also:Aemilius Paullus. Neos Pharos, now Cittavecchia, took its See also:place, and flourished until the 6th century, when the island was laid See also:waste by See also:barbarian invaders. See also:Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions Lesina as a colony of See also:pagan Slays, in the loth century. Throughout the See also:middle ages it remained a purely See also:Slavonic community; and its name, which appears in old documents as Lisna, Lesna or Lyesena, " wooded " is almost certainly derived from the Slavonic lyes, " See also:forest," not from the See also:Italian lesina, " an See also:awl." But the old See also:form Pharia persisted, as Far or Hvar, with the curious result that the See also:modern Serbo-Croatian name is Greek, and the modern Italian name Slavonic in origin. Lesina became a bishopric in 1145, and received a See also:charter from See also:Venice in 1331. It was sacked by the enemies of Venice in 1354 and 1358; ceded to See also:Hungary in the same See also:year; held by See also:Ragusa from 1413 to 1416; and incorporated in the Venefian dominions in 1420. During the 16th century Lesina city had a considerable maritime See also:trade, and, though sacked and partly burned by the See also:Turks in 1571, it remained the See also:chief See also:naval station of Venice, in these See also:waters, until 1776, when it was superseded by Curzola. Passing to Austria in 1797, and to See also:France in 18o5, it withstood a See also:Russian attack in 1807, r Ethnological See also:Map of See also:Daghestan.but was surrendered by the See also:French in 1813, and finally annexed to Austria in 18r5.

End of Article: LESINA (Serbo-Croatian, Hvar)

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