148 benjamin arbel
model, with institutions and magistracies that bore names similar to the
Venetian ones: the duke (duca), the Great Council, the Senate, the Council
of Ten, the Avvoraria di comun, the Signori di notte, the Curia di petiz-
ion, etc.54 Nevertheless, the Venetian administration in Crete functioned
in the same way as other colonies governed by a Reggimento, and like
other big overseas territories, it also had separate governors for provincial
centers—in La Canea, Rettimo, and Sitia, with their respective counselors
(except for the last-mentioned).55 Patricians who resided in Crete were
occasionally also elected to local colonial magistracies.56
The salaries of magistrates varied according to the size and importance
of the territory entrusted to their care. During the 16th century, the sala-
ries of the luogotenente of Cyprus and the capitano of Famagusta were
the highest among the magistracies of the overseas territories and among
the highest in the entire Venetian state. Only very experienced patricians
occupied these functions, which were, of course, also important positions
in the Venetian cursus honorum.57 In addition to their salaries, Venetian
officials were also entitled to receive portions of judicial fines, of taxes,
and other kinds of revenues.58
In case of death or indisposition of the chief governor, the elder coun-
selor took charge as an acting senior governor, and one of the financial
officers stepped in as interim counselor. A similar system functioned in
the other magistracies. The standard term of office had often to be pro-
longed, since no magistrate was allowed to leave his post before the arrival
of his successor.
During the 15th century, smaller Reggimenti, with one or two officials,
such as those of Brazza, Dulcigno, Egina, Malvasia, or the castellanies of
Istria, comprised more than one-third of all offices. Patricians who were
54 Chryssa Maltezou, “The Historical and Social Context,” in David Holton, ed., Literature
and Society in Renaissance Crete (Cambridge, 1991), p. 20.
55 For offices in Crete during the 16th and 17th centuries, see Aspasia Papadaki, “Αξιόματα
στη βενετοκρατούμενη Κρήτη κατά το 16ο και 17ο αιώνα,” Κρητικά Χρονικά 26 (1986), 99–135.
56 E.g., Girolamo Corner, Capitano grande in 1526–28, in Anastasia Papadia-Lala,
Αγροτιχές ταραχές και εξεγέρσεις στη βενετοκρατούμενη Κρήτη (1509–1528). Η “επανάσταση” του
Γεωργίου Γαδανολέου-Λυσσογιώργη (Ph.D. diss., University of Athens, 1983), pp. 107–08. For
minor offices, see O’Connell, Men of Empire, p. 78.
57 Benjamin Arbel, “Colonie d’oltremare,” in Storia di Venezia, vol. 5: Il Rinascimento.
Società ed economia, eds. Tenenti and Tucci, p. 972 and n. 94. Until 1509, the yearly salary of
each one of the two magistrates reached 3500 ducats; it was later reduced to 2000 ducats.
For the salaries of magistrates who served in 15th-century Dalmatia, see Mueller, “Aspects
of Venetian Sovereignty,” p. 34.
58 E.g., Pederin, “Die venezianische Verwaltung... und ihre Organe,” p. 114.