NARDO, a pretty populous town in the kingdom
of Naples, and in the Terra d'Otranto, with the title
of a duchy and a bishop's see. E. Long. 18. 27. N.
Lat. 43. 28.
In this little city are 8000 inhabitants. The steeple
of its cathedral is built in a very uncommon but showy
style of Gothic architecture. Luco Giordano and Sol-
imeni have adorned the church with some agreeable
paintings. This place was a part of the Balzo estate.
The Aquavivas were the next possessors: they are
thought to have come from the Marca di Ancona. In
1301, in consideration of their relationship to Pope Bo-
niface IX. Laudislaus erected their manor of Atri into
a dukedom, an honour till then seldom granted to any
but princes of the blood royal. Claudius Aquaviva,
a famous general of the Jesuits, who died in 1615, was
of this family.