LESSON 1: The Greek Presence in Venice prior the Fall of Constantinople

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  Introduction
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    This lesson aims to present material on the presence of Greeks in Venice and the Venetian-occupied areas before the period of the Fall of Constantinople. Emphasis is placed on the prevailing conditions of the period and how the temporal and historical context gives specific identity to the memorable Greek presence in the region.

    Nopography from the Fall of Constantinople

• Section 1:The Trade Activity Before the Fall
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    In Galinotati there is a treasure trove of memories of the Greek community, with the Greek presence in Venice dating back to the period of iconoclasm. In numerous Venetian documents there are references to families of Greek origin who were active in trade.

    In the 11th century, the emperor Alexios I Komnenos, during the war with the Normans of Robert of Giscard, rewarded the Venetians, who placed their fleet at his disposal, by awarding the title of First Viceroy to Doges.In addition, he signs an agreement with them for the free settlement of merchants in Basileus and their favourable tax treatment. These merchants create an entire Venetian colony in Constantinople.

    The Venetians of the colony are quickly integrated, speak Greek, keep the naval force flourishing, with conditions initially favourable. Along the way, and after they begin to reap all the revenue from trade inevitably, a great rivalry comes and relations between two former allies are finally broken. Things came to a head in 1171, when the Emperor Manuel, believing that he would be quiet once and for all, ordered the arrest of all the Venetians who lived within the borders of the Empire and proceeded to confiscate their wealth, their ships and their warehouses. The Venetians were prompted to retaliate and ordered their fleet to attack the Greek islands and plunder them, with Chios and Mytilene paying the price for their wrath.

    

    
    

    

    The final gap comes at the fall of 1204, in which the Venetians manage to break the resistance of the Greeks at the sea walls and enter Basileoussa. The Crusaders, together with the Venetians, then divided the territories of the empire, with Venice taking the lion's share.

    Galenotati itself, identified with trade and the sea, from which it derived its power, offered the Greeks multiple possibilities of action in the field of commercial transactions and the history of the Greeks of Venice is interwoven with the presence and development of the merchants who had settled in the city or came and went in and out of its port.

    After the Fourth Crusade (1204), several territories of the empire came under Venetian rule. Thus Venice became the centre of transit trade and attracted many Greeks, with the trade between Venice and Byzantium also setting the framework for the settlement of many of the Greek merchants in Galenotati.

    Among the conditions that facilitated the movement of Greeks, mainly from the most important Venetian-occupied centres such as Crete, Cyprus and the Ionian Islands, was the decision of the great council (maggior consiglio) of 1271 which favoured the free movement of Greeks to Venice.

    In the following century, the apparent weakness of Byzantium pushed even more Greeks to Venice. Venice is now the great capital, with trade bringing the two peoples together again, and the Greek influence in the city reaches such a point that it is considered the precursor of the Renaissance.

    
    

    Document bearing the Veneto emblem

    
    

• Section 2: Understanding Knowledge

• Conclusion
  • Shortly before the occupation of Constantinople by the Latins, the Greek element in Venice multiplied and then the first solid core of Greeks was created and the relations between the Greeks and Venice became closer over time. The interconnection is the result of commercial activity and historical developments (Crusades, Alexios Komnenos).

    The origins and development of trade and shipping in the region are worthy of study for historians and scientists. The archival material of the Hellenic Institute of Venice confirms the existence of a small Greek presence from the 11th century onwards, with numerous documents relating to the merchants, the types of transactions, the ports in which they were active and, of course, the participation of Greek residents in the economic and social life of the area.

    

    Legend of trade map