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LESINA, CURZOLA, LISSA
The last group of excursions for which Spalato is the convenient centre is to the islands of Lesina, Curzola, Lissa and Lagosta. Geographically we are at the end of the Dalmatian archipelago ; the thickly clustering islands come to a close ; the Dalmatian shore is no longer protected by the barrier chain of rocks; it is open to the sea ; there are fewer harbours; the mainland of Dalmatia is reduced to a very thin strip between frontier mountain crests and the seashore. On the other hand we have come to the beginnings of Dalmatian history, and are in contact with that remote epoch of early Greek settlements, the traces of which, however, have almost entirely disappeared. It is a period long preceding the Roman, Byzantine, Slav, Hungarian, ^ enetian and Turkish influences, but it emphasizes the root quality of Dalmatian history, the civiliza-
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