Until the fifteenth century the vessels built on the territory of the Republic were small and chiefly used for the coastwise traffic, all foreign trade being carried on ships purchased from other Dalmatian towns or from Italy. Now, however, these sources of supply were found to be inadequate, and in 1525 the Senate decided to build a new shipping yard at Gravosa. This was completed the following year, and was a very admirable and elaborate establishment for the age. At the same time the docks at Slano, Isola di Mezzo, and elsewhere, which belonged to private persons, were enlarged and improved. But even these measures were insufficient for the ever-increasing business, and more ships were purchased at Curzola and at Messina.[451] The harbour and wharfing accommodation were enlarged. Work of this kind had been partially accomplished in 1468 under the direction of the Florentine architect Niccolò di Pasquale;[452] further improvements were executed by Mastro Stazio in 1473, and in the following year dredging operations in the port were commenced. In 1475 the quays were enlarged, and warehouses for grain erected. The whole port was rebuilt on a larger scale between 1484 and 1500 by another Florentine, Pasquale di Michele. This same architect also planned the warehouses for goods coming from the interior. When the Republic received formal permission to trade with the Infidel the existing _fondico_ was enlarged in 1432 and 1442. The discovery of the Cape route and the intrigues of the Venetians caused a temporary stagnation of Ragusan trade, but it soon revived, and on June 28, 1515, the Senate decreed “de providendo pro uno fontico spacioso in quo omnia mercimonia possint fonticari.”