‘ LUGO, a maritime province of Spain, one of the four into which Galicia has since 1833 been divided, is bounded on the E. by Oviedo and Leon, on the S. by Orense, on the W. by Pontevedra and Coruna, and on the N. by the Atlantic. Its extreme length from north to south is about 98 miles, its breadth 58, and the area 3787 square miles. The coast, which extends for about 40 miles from the estuary of Rivadeo to Cape Vares, is extremely rugged and inaccessible, and few of the inlets that exist, except those of Rivadeo and Vivero, admit vessels of any size. The province, especially in the north and east, is mountainous in its character, being traversed by the great Cantabrian chain and its offshoots; the sierra by which it is separated from Leon attains in some places a height of 6000 feet. A large part of the area is drained by the Mino, which rises on the western slope of the Sierra de Meira, and follows a southerly direction until it is joined by the Sil; the latt·er for a considerable distance forms the southern boundary of the province. Of the rivers of the northern versant the most important are the Navia (which has its lower course through Oviedo), the Eo (for some distance the boundary between the two provinces), the Masma, the Oro, and the Landrobe. The Eume, one of the rivers of Coruna, and the Ulla, which separates that province from Pontevedra, both have their rise on the western slopes of Lugo. Some of the northern valleys even, in their lower portions, are fertile, and yield not only corn but fruit and wine, but the principal agricultural wealth is on the Mino and Sil, where rye, maize, wheat, legumes of various kinds, flax, hemp, and a little silk are produced. The hills are comparatively well wooded. Iron is found at Cancel and Incio, antimony at Castroverde and Cervantes, argentiferous lead at Riotorto; and there a:e quarries of granite, marble, and various kinds of slate and building stone. Linen and woollen cloths are manufactured, but to an insignificant extent, and the trade of the province is unimportant. The internal communications are still very imperfect. There is only one railway, that connecting Lugo with Coruna; but connexions with Leon (Branuelas) and with Orense are in contemplation. The total population in 1877 was 410,387, being a decrease of 22,129 since 1860. There are ten towns with a population over 10,000 —Chantada, Fonsagrada, Lugo, Mondonedo, Monforte, Panton, Sarria, Savinao, Villalba, and Vivero.

Lugo, the capital of the above province, stands on a small hill near the northern bank of the river Mino, at a height of 1930 feet above the level of the sea, 60 miles south-west from Coruna, and 353 north-west from Madrid, on the highway between these two cities. With the former it is continuously connected by rail. The form of the town, which is nearly quadrangular, is defined by a massive Roman wall, from 30 to 40 feet in height and 20 feet thick, with projecting semicircular towers which, prior to the civil war in 1809, were eighty-five in number; it now serves as a promenade, commanding an extensive and delightful prospect. The principal public places are the Plaza de la Constitucion, a spacious arcaded square, the Plaza de San Domingo, the Plaza del Hospital, and the busy Plaza del Campo, where fairs and markets are held. The most important of the public buildings is the Gothic cathedral on the south side of the town; it dates from the 12th century, but was modernized in the 18th, and possesses no special architectural merit. Other churches are those of the Capuchins and that of San Domingo; the only other buildings of note are the episcopal palace, the secondary school, the hospital, and the prison. The principal industries are tanning, and the manufacture of linen cloth and of cream of tartar; there is some trade in silk wares. About a mile to the south of the town, on the left bank of the Mino, are the famous hot sulphur baths of Lugo; the bathing house dates from 1847. The population of the ayuntamiento in 1877 was 18,909.

Lugo {Lucus Augusti) was made by Augustus the seat of a conventus juridicus. Its sulphur baths were even then well known. It suffered greatly in the 5th century, during the Moorish wars, and, more recently, during the war of independence. The bishopric dates from a very early period, and it is said to have acquired metropolitan rank in the middle of the 6th century; it is now suffragan to Santiago.