The Venetian Empire: a Sea Voyage
“As we sail up the northwest coast of Greece, though, out of Methoni’s spectacular bay, past the hill-top castle of Navarino, through the battle-waters of Lepanto, along the harsh high shore of Epirus, we approach the one great Venetian possession which was acquired painlessly, beat off all foreign assaults, and remained a more or less loyal subject of the Serenissima until the Republic itself faded away from sheer decrepitude. The Greek island of Corfu is made for pleasure or escape – ‘a very s...mall tittle-tattle place’, Edward Lear once called it – and by the restless standards of the Stato da Mar, a pleasant enough refuge it was during the four centuries of Venetian sovereignty. The climate was agreeable, the peasantry was docile, the local gentry flexibly adapted to Venetian ways, and by general consent Corfu was the most desirable station of the Venetian colonial service.
In Corfu the Venetians, at least in the earlier years of their dominion, were at their most statesmanlike.MoreLess
In Corfu the Venetians, at least in the earlier years of their dominion, were at their most statesmanlike.MoreLess
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