348 THE REPUBLIC OF RAGUSA
    The interior calls for little mention, having been completely restored and modernised. There is, however, one small room on the ground floor, with a wooden ceiling charmingly painted with arabesque designs and gilding, dating, I should imagine, from the sixteenth or early seventeenth century. Below the small loggia is the entrance to the state prisons, very gloomy dungeons indeed, in some of which prisoners were walled up alive. But the worst cells are those under the theatre—a strange contrast; they are below the level of the sea, and flooded at high tide.
    On the whole, the Rector’s Palace is the most interesting and beautiful building in Dalmatia, with the exception perhaps of the Romanesque cathedral of Trail. Its graceful design, its perfect proportions, and its many charming details of stone work make of it a worthy rival of many of the famous palazzi pubblici of the Italian towns. It bears a strong analogy to the Loggia dei Mercanti at Ancona, on which some of the same artists were employed. The sculptures, however, labour under one disadvantage, viz. they are carved out of poor material. The Curzola stone, which is admirable for building purposes, for columns, and plain adornments, is not quite hard enough for elaborate sculpture, so that although the designs of the artists may be admirable, the result has sometimes a rough and unfinished appearance. It would form an interesting speculation to study what effect the nature of the material had on the artist. At Ragusa one certainly longs for the accurate and finished work of the Florentines. But nevertheless the Palace of Ragusa is in its way a little masterpiece.