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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Despite the growing interest of modern scholars in early-Renaissance civic architecture as the bearer of meaning, the public buildings of Dubrovnik (It. Ragusa; Lat. Ragusium) have received less attention than their due. This is all the more regrettable because when some of the city's monuments are seen in their appropriate historical perspective, they turn out to be more important than many scholars would have expected.
My case in point is Dubrovnik's principal government building, the so-called Rector's Palace (Palatium regiminis, Knežev dvor, or the Palazzo de'Rettori) When the fortress-like structure, which had been built in the fourteenth century, was severely damaged in 1435 by a gunpowder explosion in the armory, the authorities immediately decided to erect a new palace. Its construction was entrusted to the state engineer Onofrio di Giordano della Cava of Naples, under whose direction it was virtually completed by 1452 — only to be severely damaged by another explosion of ammunition in 1463.
My research for the present study began between 1988 and 1989 at the University of Ljubljana and continued at the Johns Hopkins University. Its results formed the basis for a paper delivered in the spring of 1990 in the seminar on Renaissance thought conducted by Professor Salvatore Camporeale. The preliminary results were published in Slovenian in the volume dedicated to the memory of Jaro Šašel (see note 15 below). In the course of preparing this extended English version for publication I had the privilege of receiving continued support and advice from Professor Camporeale and Professor Charles Dempsey. To the latter I am also deeply grateful for patiently reading through the text and for discussing with me many passages which required the labor limae. I profited greatly from discussing the interpretive problems with Professors Hans Belting, Dieter Blume, Igor Fisković, Janez Höfler, Jože Kastelic, Herbert L. Kessler, Eduardo Saccone and Primož Simoniti, as well as with my friends Marko Frelih and Glenn Peers. Many useful comments and suggestions for improving the text I owe also to the Renaissance Quarterly reviewer, Patricia Fortini Brown. Last but not least I owe many thanks to the employees of the State Archives and Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode in Dubrovnik, especially Dubravka Stanić and Doroteja Valjalo, and Regionalni zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture Split, in particular Josip Belamarić and Radoslav Tomić.
The following abbreviations are used in the notes and bibliography:
CIL = Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, consilio et auctoritate Academiae Litterarum (Regiae) Borussicae editum. 16 vols. Leipzig and Berlin, 1862-1943. [Editio altera, 1893 ff].
RE = Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Neue Bearbeitung, est. G. Wissowa, W. Kroll and K. Mittelhaus; eds. K. Ziegler and W. John. I. Reihe (A-Q) 1 I - 24 I. Stuttgart, 1893-1963; H. Reihe (P-Z) I A ff. Stuttgart, 1914ff [+ Supplements].
ThLGr = Thesaurus Graecae Linguae ab H. Stephana Constructus, eds. C. B. Hase, W. and L. Dindorf. 8 vols. Paris, 1831-65.
ThLL = Thesaurus Linguae Latinae editus auctoritate et consilio Academiarum quinque Germanicarum, Berolinensis, Gottingensis Lipsiensis Vindobonensis [later: Editus iussu Academiis Societatibus diversarum nationum]. Leipzig, 1900 ff.