Inheritance
Thomas Flagginis
The higher educational needs of the Brotherhood were covered by the operation of the Flanginian College, which was founded thanks to the bequest of Thomas Flangini (1573-1648). Born in Corfu to a Corfiot father and a Cypriot mother, Flanginis went to Venice on a scholarship from a monk from Padua. He enrolled at the University of Padua, where he distinguished himself for the simplicity of his life, the humility of his morals and his thirst for knowledge, and was awarded a doctorate in canon and civil law. Returning to Venice, he practiced law and developed in the field of investment and commerce. On his death, he left a legacy for the establishment of a school for the education of Greek Orthodox students, the creation of a hospital, the endowment of poor girls and the liberation of prisoners.
College
In 1624, Flanginis addressed the Venetian authorities for the establishment of an educational institution for the Greeks of Venice, expressing his concern about the activities of the Jesuits. This request was later supported by the Brotherhood itself, of which Flanginis was an active administrative member. In his will, he left a considerable sum for the creation of the College, which was housed in a privately owned building and placed under the spiritual supervision of the riformatori of the University of Padua, the Metropolitan of Philadelphia and the chaplain of the Brotherhood's church.
According to his will, the foundation offered full scholarships to Greek children aged 12-16, providing six-year studies. The curriculum included courses in Grammar, Philology, Rhetoric, Logic and Philosophy, Theology, Mathematics and Geography, some of which could be taken by external students. The Flanginian College normally accommodated twelve internal students; many of them continued their studies at the University of Padua, a key centre of higher education for Greeks under the protection of the Venetian state. In its 132 years of operation (1665-1797 and 1823-1905), the College hosted some 550 students, with an average stay of 3-4 years. The College was an important nucleus of learning and publishing activity.
In 1797, the overthrow of the Republic of Venice by Napoleon's troops led to the confiscation of the money of the Flangini bequest, which had a decisive impact on the School. Despite the difficulties, the School was reopened in 1798 and continued until 1905, when it was closed for good. The building of the School, although unused for fifty years, was preserved.
The fate of the building was changed thanks to diplomatic actions between Greece and Italy and with the contribution of the Greek Community of Venice, which was the owner of the building. By an educational agreement of 1948, the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice was founded, which was housed in this historic building in exchange for the reopening of the Italian Archaeological Society and the Italian Institute in Athens.
Student status, Flangineio College
Hospital
Part of Flangini's bequests was the establishment of a hospital for the Brotherhood.
The operation of the hospital was planned on the basis of the instructions of the testator, according to which one or two houses had to be made available and 8-10 mattresses prepared for the care of needy Greek patients and sailors who sailed into the port of the city. The patients were to stay in separate rooms according to sex, and the hospital was to be under the supervision of the Archbishop and the priests of the church. Medical care would be provided by a doctor who would also take care of the inhabitants of the neighbouring streets.
The hospital was founded according to the will of the testator by the Trustees of the Venice Hospitals. The Brotherhood entrusted its design to the distinguished architect Baldassare Longhena. The nursing home was housed on the first floor of the Scoletta building, next to the church of St. George, and its construction cost 14,000 ducats.
After the loss of Crete, many feigned illness in order to receive the 2 ducats allowance on their departure, as provided for in the will. This led the Provveditori di Ospedali in 1694 to decree that no one would be admitted without a doctor's certificate of the nature of their illness and that the allowance would not be given without a prior 20-day stay in hospital.
The hospital operated until 1797. In 1843, thanks to a new bequest by the English Orthodox Giorgio Edoardo Pickering, it offered its services again to the Greek community until it was finally closed in 1900. The latter was renamed "Flangini-Pickering Hospital" in honour of both the founder and the donor.
Hospital's Document, Flagginis-Pickering
Fragment from the will of Flanginis