a town of Austria, formerly the capital of an independent republic which now forms part of the kingdom of Dalmatia, stands on a peninsula on the E. shore of the Adriatic, 40 miles N.W. of Cattaro. It is built partly at the foot and partly on the steep slope of two hills; and is defended by walls and bastions, and by several forts. The streets, generally narrow, are well paved, and lined with large and substantially-built houses. The finest buildings are the cathedral, the former Jesuits' church, and the beautiful Gothic episcopal palace. The manufactures consist chiefly of silk and woollen cloth, wines, tobacco, and soap. The trade and navigation of the port are considerable; and ship-building is carried on. Ragusa was originally founded by fugitives from the neighbouring Epidaurus, when that city was destroyed by the Slavonians. The constitution was republican, the executive being in the hands of a senate elected by a general council, and presided over by a supreme officer, called at first Count, but subsequently Rector. Until the tenth century Ragusa was under the protection of the princes of Narenta; afterwards, however, it became an independent and powerful maritime state. For more than a hundred years it was governed by Venetian rectors; but in 1668 it was made independent of that state by the King of Hungary, under whose protection it continued to flourish. At a subsequent period Ragusa became tributary to Turkey. It was taken possession of by Napoleon in 1806, and on his fall in 1814 it came to Austria. Pop. 8800.

a town of Sicily, on the right bank of a river of the same name, in the province and 29 miles W.S.W. of Syracuse. Manufactures of cloth and silk are actively carried on; and there is much trade in the corn, oil, wine, and cheese produced in the vicinity. Pop. 16,800.