Istria contains several towns of considerable importance, of which, according to some geographers, the principal is Trieste. But as others incline to detach it from this coun try, and annex it, along with its territory, to another, we shall briefly remark, that it is situated at the bottom of a gulf of the same name, occupying the place of the ancient Tergeste, a Roman station ; that it is a city of great trade and numerous population, which chiefly began to flourish under the celebrated Empress Maria Theresa, somewhat after the middle of the preceding century. Sec TRIESTE. Capo d'Ist•ia, one of the largest in the Venetian part, is visually considered the capital. See CAPO and ISTRIA. The town of Pola, now an inconsiderable place, is, as re marked by the learned Dr. Pucocke," in relation to its anti quities, to be regarded among the greatest." It stands to wards the south-west extremity of Istria, but the approach to it from the sea is dangerous on account of rocks and shoals. It has a fine road, spacious and convenient, form ing a basin which is completely sheltered from every wind. Pola is surrounded by walls, and defended by a citadel, a poor edifice of four bastions, wherein the Venetians kept a garrison of 15 or 20 men, and a governor, who was al ways a nobleman, and whose monthly allowances cost more than the whole annual pay of the military. All maritime visitors undergo the strictest examination, to guard against infection of the plague from the Levant. Nevertheless, it sometimes breaks out and makes considerable ravages. The occurrence of this calamity is attributed to the negli gence of a police not sufficiently vigilant in preventing the surreptitious introduction of contraband goods, the fruits of piracies and robbery, by profligate persons dwelling on some of the neighbouring islands. The inhabitants of Pola do not exceed 600 or 700 dispersed within the walls. Here are the remains of one of the noblest amphitheatres now extant. Its exterior walls are almost entire, consisting of very large hewn stones, bound together with cramps of iron. They rise in three stories, each penetrated by 72 ar cades, or 216 in whole, and are capable of containing seve ral thousand persons. This amphitheatre, like others, is of an elliptical form, the largest diameter extending 400 feet ; and in the interior is a wide subtcrraneous channel, supposed to have been for the purpose of carrying off water. Pola possesses other interesting antiquities ; as the ruins of a temple, dedicated to Rome and Augustus, an emperor who long resisted that tribute of adulation. Its architec ture exhibits the most delicate proportions of the Corinthi an order ; and an inscription, testifying its original object, is still legible between the architrave and the cornice over the portico. The inhabitants of the city, however, believe that the temple was built for the worship of Pallas and popular names arc, besides, given to different antiquities, which tend to involve their foundation and uses in much perplexity. Such arc the ruins called the Palace of Julia, and the Tower of Orlando. A beautiful monumental arch, simply a memorial of conjugal affection by a surviving wi dow, appears here in good preservation. Pola is supposed
to have become a Roman colony hi the time of Augustus : it was destroyed first by Attila, and afterwards by the Ve netians. One of the more flourishing towns of Istria is the seaport Rovigno, occupying a peninsula on the west coast, which is handsome and well built. The materials of the various edifices are taken from neighbouring quarries, the same that supply what are required for the structures of Venice. The cathedral is a spacious and elegant edifice, of Gothic architecture, occupying the highest part of the city, with a lofty tower. Rovigno contains about 10,000 in habitants. The ancient Parenrium, now Parenzo, was fa mous for a temple dedicated to Neptune, the foundations and basement of which are still visible. Otho, emperor of Germany, is said to have taken its materials fur building the cathedral, which contains many curious pieces of Mo saic. A small town, called Pirano, stands in a picturesque situation, on a peninsula between the Gulf of Lagona and that of Trieste, and which is conjectured to belong to the age of Attila. In the church is an ancient vase, converted to a font, which is sculptured with a cupidan or dolphin. There are several other towns in Istria besides what arc now mentioned. Most of those on the sea-coast are un healthy, and, long ago, that of Citta Nova was represented as almost quite desolate from so disastrous a cause.
The principal exports of this country are mai ble, timber, fish, salt, oil, and wine.
Formerly, the population of Istria was computed at 100,000 souls ; but this seems to have been only the Vene tian part, and it is not unlikely that the inhabitants of the whole at present exceed double that number.
The history of Istria, which can be obtained only from meagre materials, ascends to a very early date. It is con sidered to have been one of the Illyrian provinces, but its ancient dimensions are not clearly ascertained. The Col chians, on returning from their celebrated expedition, arc supposed to have established themselves here ; and when the country was conquered by the Romans, they found the worship of Isis established in it. Istria, when united to the empire, shared in its diversified fortunes, but its his tory is so much interwoven with that of the neighbouring regions, that the same observation may be applied to both. We learn that Crispus, the son of the Emperor Constantine, having been banished to Pola on an accusation of an inces tuous passion for his step-mother Fausta, was compelled to swallow poison. The inhabitants, believing him inno cent, decreed magnificent obsequies to his memory, and Fausta soon became the victim of her own dissolute con duct. The monuments yet seen in Istria testify the ad vanced state of the arts; but the decline of the empire ad mitted new and more barbarous invaders. This country at length fell under the dominion of the Venetians, and more recently it has had some participation in the troubles which agitated Europe towards the close of the preceding century. Lat. 45'-45° 50' N. Long. 11.1° 20' E. (c)