The Venetian Rule: 1207 - 1580
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A great deal of the territory of the vanquished Byzantine Empire was split among the participants of that expedition; the Venetians, who had provided the fleet to transport much of that army, laid claim to much of the southern Aegean. In 1207, Santorini was incorporated into the Duchy of the Archipelago, with the capital on Naxos under the Venetian Marco Sanudo. Sanudo gave the island the name Santorini, taken from the church Santa Irini in Therasia; the only place suitable for anchorage at the time (Kourakou-Dragona 1995, 39).
The Venetians established a feudal system on Santorini and built fortified castle settlements at Skaros, the capital, and in Oia, Pyrgos, Emborio, and Akrotiri. The feudal lords on the island lived in Goulades, tower structures that served as both defensible strongholds and as warehouses for the agricultural crops. The Venetian occupiers also brought with them the Roman Catholic religion, and for the following centuries Catholics and the original Orthodox peoples of the island co-existed more or less in harmony. Evidence of this religious freedom is found in some of the churches built during that period that featured dual altars: one for the orthodox, and one for catholic services.
The Venetians, being proficient seafarers and merchants, opened the island up to traders of Western Europe. Venetian documents show that Santorini became a major stop on the Holy Land pilgrimage tour from Venice as well as a stopping place for vessels going to Crete and the Middle East (Kourakou-Dragona 1995). Kourakou-Dragona believes that the only possible reason for Santorini to be such a stop -- a dry arid island without a true harbor, water, or basic foodstuffs at the time -- has to be the one product Santorini did have -- wine (Kourakou- Dragona 1995, 40). Wine for long journeys was necessary, as clean water was hard to find, and even harder to transport on such a journey (Kourakou-Dragona 1995, 40). Hence, although Santorini lacked the basic natural resources to become an important island, it was heavily settled due to its wine and its strategic location.
From 1296, to 1383, Santorini suffered the ravages of a number of wars and occupations. In 1296, the Byzantines retook the island, only to soon leave the island back to the Sanudos. In 1354, the Genoese occupied the island during a war with the Venetians. Soon the Venetians reclaimed the island, and granted the island back to the Sanudos, who died out in 1383, to be replaced by the Crispi Duchy. The island once again prospered, and viticulture flourished, until the repeated occupation and destruction of the island by the Turks during the Venetian-Turkish war from 1469-1479. After the conclusion of this war, Santorini was ceded to the Venetian Duchy of Crete, and then transferred to the Republic of Venice itself. Santorini wine was certainly exported to Venice, as Santorini’s Vinsanto is found to be quite favored amongst the Venetian nobility and other crusaders returning to Europe (Kourakou-Dragona 1995, 39). However, throughout the Venetian period, the population on the island was in perpetual danger of raids by Turkish pirates. Incessant pirate raids and an eruption of the volcano in 1357 caused much of the island’s population to flee the island, many going to Crete. Due to the strife of pirates, repeated wars and conquests, the population of the island during the 15th century was estimated at no more than 800 persons (Doumas 1995, 33). By the beginning of the 16th century the population had dropped even lower to only a few hundred (Kourakou-Dragona 1995, 41). With troubles increasing for them in the Aegean, the Venetians relinquished control of Santorini to the Turks in 1579.
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| Source: | "Santorini: Sustainable Regional Development 2004; regional planning of the islands of Thera and Therasia Phase A: Analysis" |
| Pages: | pp. 9-12 |
| Written by: | - Michael Romanos - Carla Chifos - Francis P. Wray - Frank Russell - Menelaos Triantafillou and students: E. Crisanti, C. Freese, H. Fulmer, E. Huber, E. Lopez-Stickney, A. Meyer, M. Steele, H. Wadih, N. Luehmann. |
| University of Cincinnati School of Planning. | |
| To download the entire analysis and/or learn more about the University of Cincinnati: | http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/copy_of_University%20of%20Cincinnati/ |