150 benjamin arbel
and Paxo were elected in the Community Council of Corfu,64 and those
of Ithaka (in the Venetian sources: Teachi), were elected by the Coun-
cil of Cephalonia as from 1563.65 Almissa was governed by a commander
selected from among the professional soldiers of Spalato, and the rural
republic of Poglizza was under the authority of an itinerant magistrate,
the conte, who was nominated from among the noblemen of Spalato.66
In very few cases, the inhabitants of the minor centers succeeded in
obtaining self-government. Following complaints by the representatives
of Ithaca about the ineptitude of the Cephalonian Captains, the Republic
agreed at some point in the 17th century to let the people of Ithaca elect
two “elders” from their own ranks, to hold sway by themselves.67
Cyprus had no dependencies, but Venice authorized the università of
Nicosia to elect from among it ranks several district governors, such as
the capitano of Limassol, and the civitani of Chrysochou, Pendaya, Mazoto
and Avdimou. Two other district governorships, the capitano of Sivouri
and the bailo of Carpas, were also manned by Cypriots, but were nomi-
nated by the Venetian captain of Famagusta from among the citizens of
that town.68
Venetian colonial magistrates were flanked by a staff of ministri, most
of whom were supposed to come from Venice or from other Venetian
territories. They included a secretary, a chancellor, a bookkeeper, and an
officer (cavaliere). Between 1636 and 1709, and again from 1743 onwards,
these offices, like all other bureaucratic offices in the Venetian state, except
for a few senior ones, were offered for sale.69 This was undoubtedly one
of the weaknesses of Venice’s colonial administration. In many colonies,
some key positions of the bureaucracy were held by local citizens, who
64 Constantin N. Sathas, ed., Documents inédits relatifs à l’histoire de la Grèce au Moyen
Age, 9 vols (Paris, 1880–90), 3:465–66; Eugenio Bacchion, Il dominio veneto su Corfù (1386–
1797 ) (Venice, 1956), p. 58. In 1513, Paxo was was sold as a fief to the Abrami and Morello
families; see Lunzi, Della condizione, pp. 347–48; and Pagratis, ed., Οι εκθέσεις, pp. 340, 436.
65 Marino and Nicolo Pignatorre, Memorie storiche e critiche dell’isola di Cefalonia, dai
tempi eroici alla caduta della Repubblica Veneta, 2 vols (Corfu, 1887–89), 1:120–21; William
Miller, The Latins in the Levant (New York, 1908), p. 557; Lunzi, Della condizione, p. 348;
Kostas T. Tsiknakis, ed., Οι εκθέσεις των βενετών προνοητών της Κεφαλονίας (16ος αιώνας)
(Athens, 2008), p. 123 (1590).
66 Praga, History of Dalmatia, p. 157; Pederin, “Die venezianische Verwaltung... und
ihre Organe,” p. 128.
67 Lunzi, Della condizione, p. 350; Miller, The Latins, p. 557.
68 Benjamin Arbel, “Η Κύπρος υπό ενετική κυριαρχία,” in Theodore Papadopoullos, ed.,
Ιστορία tης Κύπρου, vol. 4/A (Nicosia, 1995), pp. 469–70.
69 Marco Ferro, Dizionario del diritto comune e veneto, 10 vols (Venice, 1778–81), 1:345–47.