LUGO, a town of Italy, Papal States, delegation of Ferrara, and 32 miles S.S.E. of the town of that name. It is situated in a plain about midway between the Senio and Santerno rivers, and is supposed to occupy the site of Lucus Diana. It carries on an important trade, and has a large annual fair, which lasts from the 1st to the 19th of September. Lugo was sacked and nearly destroyed by the French in 1796. Pop. 9500.
Lugo, a province of Spain, one of the four into which the ancient kingdom of Galicia has been divided, is situated on the coast of the Atlantic, between N. Lat. 42. 22. and 43. 47.; W. Long. 6. 52. and 8. 4.; bounded E. by the provinces of Oviedo and Leon, W. by those of Pontevedra and Coruña, S. by the province of Orense, and N. by the sea. It has a coast of about 40 miles in length from Ribadeo to Cape Bares, extremely rugged, and inaccessible to all but fishing boats. Such ports as there are—Ribadeo, Rilo, Foz, San Ciprian—are of small capacity and depth, and obstructed by bars; while the mountains close behind are barren and almost impassable. The province is generally mountainous, especially in the N. and E. The highest summit, that called Rico de Peña Rubia, has an elevation of 6088 feet above sea-level. Inclosed are a great number of fertile valleys; in that of Miranda, on the left bank of the Eo, are cultivated not only the cereals, but also fruit and wine. The valleys of the Oro and Vivera, that called the Riberas del Sor, and that of Monforte, are also very productive. The partido of Lugo, the capital, comprehends the delicious valleys of the River Miño and its affluents. The River Miño is the most considerable in the province. It has its rise in the Sierra de Meira, passes the town of Lugo after receiving various smaller streams, and joins the Sil at Los Peares. Sufficient advantage, however, is not taken of the abundant supply of water, and agriculture is in rather a backward state. This is also partly owing to the paucity and badness of the roads, which in this province, as throughout Galicia, are deplorably defective. The productions of the soil are rye, maize, wheat, legumes of various kinds, flax, hemp, and some silk. There is abundance of wood both for building purposes and for fuel. The cultivation of hemp has been almost entirely destroyed by the absurd restrictions of the government. In Caurel and Incio are mines of iron, which is manufactured chiefly in Lugo and Mondedero; antimony is found in Castroverde and Cervantes; and argentiferous lead in Riotorto. Among the mineral products of the province may also be reckoned the gold washed down by the streams. There are quarries of granite, marble, various kinds of slate and building stone. Linen and woolen cloths are manufactured to some extent. The export traffic of Ribadeo, Vivero, Santiago, Foz, and San Ciprian, is considerable; but the inland trade, from the causes already mentioned, is insignificant, and carried on chiefly by the maragatos. Education is in a deplorable state. There is a university, so called, at Santiago; but there are very few primary schools, and those are of no great excellence. In the partido of Ribadeo there can scarcely be said to be any educational provision whatever. Lugo contains eleven partidos, of which the total population
amounted in 1845 to 323,158. The inhabitants of this sequestered region have preserved to a striking degree the manners and customs of ancient Galicia. They are a laborious, loyal, and obedient people; much addicted to litigation, however, and somewhat given to less excusable methods of revenge. The climate of the province is various, on account of the extreme unevenness of its surface; in general it is mild, however, and especially on the coast.