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BAS-RELIEF

ants on the sick; also of the teaching Sisters of the Holy Cross of Menzihgen, who carrj- on large insti- tutes for girls at Menzingen, Baldegg, and Cham, and conduct, besides. 250 elementary schools, and 45 institutions for the poor, orphans, and sick in different parts of Switzerland. In addition to the three Catholic schools for girls mentioned above, there are similar institutions at Solothurn and Lu- cerne. The most important Catholic church of the diocese is the Cathedral of Solothurn, which was built, 1762-63, in the style of the Italian Renaissance; others worthy of mention are: the collegiate church of St. Leodegar at Lucerne (built 16.3.3-35); the church of St. Oswald at Zug; the churches of the former monasteries of i"'ischingen, Kreuzlingen, and Beromiinster; the church of the institute at Men- zingen, etc. The most frequented pilgrimages are: Mariastein near Basle, and Vorburg near Delsberg.

(See SwiTZERL.VND.)

Neugart. Episcopatus C onstantiensw Alemannicus (St. Blasien, 1803. Freiburg, 1862, 2 vols. ): Schxeller. Die Bischofe von Basel (Zug. 1830); Trooill.it, MonuTnents de VhUloire de VancuTi eveche de Biite (Porrentruy, 1852-66. 5 vols.); XrERlAN, Geschichle der Bischvfe von Basel (Basle, 1860-62). 2 parts extending to 1330; Atteshofer, Die rechtliche Slellung der kaOwlischen Kirche gegenuber der Staatsgewalt in der Dinzese Basel (Lucerne. 1869); Vautrey, Histoire des eveques de Bale (Einsiedeln. 1884-86. 2 vols.); Sch.\iidlin. Die katholisch-lheolo- gische und kirchli^he Litteratur des Bistums Basel vom Jahre 1750 bis zum Jahre 1393 (Bern. 1894-95): Fleiner. Staat und Bischojsu'ahl im Bislum Basel (Leipzig, 1897); Daucocrt. Les eieches suisses (Freiburg. 1901); Idem. Dictionnaire historique des paroisses de I't'rechc de Bide (Porrentruy, 1893-1905, 5 vols.); BircHi, Die kalholische Kirche der Schweiz (Munich. 1902); Status cleri omnium HelvetiiE diaecesium (Solothurn, 1905).

II. The Dioce.se of Lrc^xo. — The Diocese of Lu- gano was erected by a Bull of Leo XIII (7 September, 1888), It includes the Swiss Canton of Ticino, where the population is almost entirely Catholic and Italian is the common language. Before the Diocese of Lugano was founded the Canton of Ticino was under the jurisdiction, in ecclesiastical matters, of bishops who were not Swiss. The smaller, northern part belonged to the Archdiocese of Milan and, conse- quently, stUl uses the Ambrosian Rite; the other, and much larger part of the canton, belonged to the Diocese of Como. Soon after the formation of the Canton of Ticino, in 1803, efforts were made to separ- ate it in its church relations as well as from foreign powers and to unite it in the.se with the rest of Swit- zerland. But it was several decades before the Great Council, in 18.55, went thoroughly into the matter. Without consultation with the Holy See the Federal Council in 1859 declaied the jurisdiction of the Bishops of Como and Milan to be aboli.shed in the territory of Switzerland; after this negotiations were begun with Rome. No settlement of the question was reached until the pontificate of Leo Xlll. By the convention of 1 September, 1884, made between the Curia and the Federal Council. Ticino was canoni- cally separated from its former diocesan connexions and was placed, provisionally, under an administrator Apostolic, the pope appointing as administrator. Bishop Laehat of Basle (see above). After Bishop Lachat's death (1886) the new Bishopric of Ticino was formed by the Bull of circumscription "Ad universam" of Leo XIII (7 September, 1.88S), and united with the Diocese of Basle under the title of the Diocese of Basle-Lugano. Tlie same year the Church of San Lorenzo was elevated to a cathedral. The union is merely a nominal one, for, although the Bishop of Basle is called the Bishop of Lugano he exercises no rights of jurisdiction in this diocese. It is, in reality, under the independent rule of an administrator Apostolic who has the rank and power of a bishop. He is appointed by the pope with the concurrence of the Bishop of Basle from among the members of the dergj' of the Canton of Ticino. The first administrator Apostolic was Eugene Laehat; he was followed by Mgr. Vincent Molo (1887-1904),

and Mgr. Alfred Peri-Morosini. The latter was born 12 March, 1862, and was consecrated 17 April, 1904. St.\tistic.s. — .\ccording to the Swiss census of 1900 the Diocese of Lugano includes 135,200 Catho- lics in a total population of 142,800 for the Canton of Ticino. For purposes of religious administration the diocese is divided into 14 episcopal vicariates, 5 rural chapters, and 248 parishes and chaplaincies; 54 parishes use the Ambrosian Rite; the other 194 parishes belong to the Latin Rite. The care of souls is exercised by 330 secular priests and 22 regular clergj'. The cathedral chapter consists of an arch- priest and 16 canons (10 resident and 6 non-iesident ). The collegiate churches are: Bellinzona, a provost and 14 canons; Agno, a provost and 7 canons; Lo- carno, a provost and 8 canons; Balerna, a provost and 8 canons, and Mendrisio, a provost and 8 canons. Catholic institutions of learning are: the seminary for priests at Lugano; the episcopal seminary foi boys, Santa Maria near PoUegio; the papal academj at Ascona; the College Don Bosco at Bellinzona; the Institute Dante Aligliieri, conducted by the Somaschi, at Bellinzona, and the institute at Olivoiie. The orders and congregations in the diocese and the number of their houses are as follows: Capuchins, 4 houses; the Somaschi, 1; Benedictine nuns, 1; August inian nuns, 1 house, which has an academy in connection with it; Capuchin nuns, 1; Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul, 2 (hospitals at Lugano and Locarno); School-Sisters of Menzingen, 2 (col- lege at Bellinzona); Sisters of the Holy Cross, 3 (they also conduct an asylum for the deaf and dumb at Locarno); .Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, 1; Sisters of the Childhood of Jesus, 1 ; and the Sisters of the Divine Providence, 1. The most noted church of the diocese is the cathedral of San Lorenzo at Lugano, which was built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and has a celebrated Renaissance facade; the most frequented place of pilgrimage is the shrine Madonna del Sasso not far from Locarno, which is the national shrine of the Canton of Ticino.

Fransci.ni. Der Kanton Tessin, historisch, geographiach und statistisch geschildert (St. Gall and Bern, 1835); Peri-Morosim. La questione diocesana ticinese, ovvero ori^ine delta diocesi di Lugano (Einsiedeln, 1892); Rahn, Die mittelalterlichen Kunst- denkmaler des Kantons Tessin (Zurich, 1893); Borrani, 11 Ticino sacra (Lugano. 1899); CantiJ, Storia delta citla e della diocesi di Como (Milan, 1829-32. 3d ed., Como. 1899-1900); MoTTA. Bolletino storico di Ticino (since 1879). and the works by BC'chi and Davcourt quoted in the bibliography above.

Joseph Lins.

Bas-relief, a sculpture executed upon and at- tached to a flat surface. The usual impression pro- duced by an artistic relief is that about one-half of the actual proportions of the object are being seen in their third dimension of depth. Strictly speak- ing, however, relief sculnture is subdi\ided into various kinds. In alto-rilievo (It. for high relief) the figures are sculptured partly or wholly in the round, that is. they project entirely, or almost en- tirely, from the surface of the block in which they are cut. The metopes from the Parthenon (Elgin Marbles) now in the British Museum, are among the best examples of alto-rilievo. Mezzo-rilievo (It. for semi-relief; Fr.. demt-rclief) presents figures that are rounded to half their natural proportions, but with- out detached parts. Basso-rilievo (It. for low-relief; Fr., bas-relief) is a form of surface-ornamentation in which lite projection is verj' slight. The finest known specimen of low relief is the frieze around the cellii of the Parthenon; large portions of it are to be seen in the British Museum. The lowest kind of relief is that described by the Tuscan term ritievo-stiacciato (depressed or flattened relief). This scarcely rises from the surface upon which it is carved, and is mostly an art of fine lines and delicate indications. Donatello's Florentine Madonnas and saints are among the best examples. Finally cavo-rilievo