The Movements of the Military Engineers in the Service of the Republic of Venice from the “Kingdom of Crete” to Other Fortresses of Greek Regions (16th-17th c.)

During the long period of the sovereignty of the Republic of Venice in Greek regions and during a series of wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, the military engineers who worked in the service of Venice, followed the Venetian troops. They programmed and projected additional works in existed fortifications or new ones, participating also in many sieges. Through their work it is interesting to research the bigger or smaller technical, defensive works, carried out from the 16th till the 17th centuries. The main database for this research is always the manuscripts (technical reports and designs) existed in the State Archives and the Libraries of Venice.

The military engineers, who passed and worked mainly in Crete, and also in Corfu and other city-ports of the Greek regions under the dominion of Venice, played the most significant role. They were personalities and protagonists in the field of the military architecture in Italy and also in Europe, mainly during the 17th century. Their contribution to the evolution of the fortified techniques and the development of the fortresses with bastions, exactly the same period, was decisive not only in the State of Venice, or the Italian peninsula, but also in the entire Europe.