Lesina

"From Spalato our course was due south to the small island of Solta, known in ancient times as Olynta, famous for delicious honey made from the cistus rose and rosemary. Passing through a tiny channel between the island of Solta and its near neighbor, Brazza, with its little town of Milna — which we regretfully had to leave without paying it a visit — our steamer soon after rounded the end of the island of Lesina, with its pretty lighthouse, and we were in sight of the sheltered harbor. Three old forts, all now obsolete, in ancient days protected the fascinating little town. While their days of usefulness are over, they still add a romantic touch to the harbor's classic beauty. Owing to the girdle of sheltering mountains, Lesina is famous for a mild climate, and has become a popular winter resort, particularly for those with delicate lungs. On the quay is a splendid loggia of seven arches, with a carved head in the center of each, which now forms a part of the adjoining albergo, "Kursalon".

The loggia is approached by a broad flight of marble steps adorned with ornamental shrubs in tubs. The door in the central arch leads into a spacious hall. The six remaining arches are built with long casement windows draped with modern window curtains, looking sadly out of place among the ancient columns. Over the entrance to the Kursalon, which is also the town hall, I noticed a fine pair of sculptured lions supporting a time-defaced shield. Behind the loggia, on the albergo proper, is a stone slab with a splendidly decorative Venetian lion of majestic proportions, with three twists in his tail and a sadly battered nose. A door leads from the second story of this oddly-shaped stone building out onto the top of the loggia, forming a commodious porch for the albergo's patrons. Two windows in the upper story are joined by a small iron balcony, above which is a crazy-looking, sharply-pointed tiled roof, in which is a funny square window right up in the peak.

Lesina's clock-tower adjoins the loggia on the right. It is square and ugly, finished off with a railing and a most absurdly small bell. Behind the clock-tower and the Kursalon, fortifications climb the hill to its summit, which is crowned with the mossy bastion and walls of the deserted Fort Spagnuolo now only a picturesque ruin.

We learned that there was a charming walk to a Franciscan monastery in whose refectory is a "Last Supper" by the famous Florentine artist, Matteo Rosselli. The region has a semi-tropical vegetation; cacti, palms, blue-flowered century-plants, and fields covered with brilliant wild flowers, abound. But we had not a moment to spare to go anywhere" (pp. 207-209).