340 Georgopoulou
city as an ensemble of public official structures and Latin churches that were
closely related to the state is telling of the colonial outlook of the Venetians
40 years after their arrival on Crete.
On the other hand the older Byzantine towns did not lose their significance
entirely. Many provincial towns continued to flourish in the 13th century as
significant production and distribution centres. Corinth maintained its promi-
nence becoming a centre of commercial exchange with much more imported
pottery and plenty of evidence for moneychangers.42 Despite the pronounced
distinction between the Frankish Principality of the Morea which was less com-
mercially minded and the capitalist-minded regions dominated by the highly
interventionist state of Venice (Cyclades, Crete, Ionian Islands and key forti-
fied ports on the mainland), regional economies were critical for the wellbeing
of medieval Greece. Although the capital of Achaea was a new town, the other
major Frankish centres were usually ancient ones: Thebes and Livadia, Corinth
and Athens. The settlements of Geraki, Mistra and Monemvasia, returned to
the Byzantines a few years after the battle of Pelagonia in 1262 built on dra-
matic slopes retained their medieval appearance along with their apparent
prosperity. Narrow streets, two-storey stone houses, and thick rampart walls
created a strong fortified settlement (Figure 10.2).43
unum rusticum pro qualibet militia, sicut idem capitaneus et sui consciliarii vel ipse
capitaneus eu unus illorum voluerint,” cf. Gottlieb L.F. Tafel and Georg M. Thomas, eds.,
Urkunden zur älteren Handelsund Staatsgeschichte der Republik Venedig, 3 vols. (Vienna,
1856–57; repr. Amsterdam, 1964), 2:471–72, no. 322; and Georgios A. Sefakas, Παραχώρησις
από της Εvετικής Συγκλήτoυ τoυ διαμερίσματoς τωv Χαvίωv ως φεoύδoυ εις Εvετoύς ευγεvείς εv έτει
1252 [Cession of the Department of Canea as a Fief to Venetian Nobles by the Venetian Senate
in 1252] (Athens, 1940), pp. 15–17.
42 Charles K. Williams ii, “Frankish Corinth: An Overview,” in Corinth, vol. 20, The Centenary:
1896–1996 (Athens, 2003), 423–34.
43 The classic study by Anastasios K. Orlandos, “Τα παλάτια και τα σπίτια του Μυστρά” [The
Palaces and Houses of Mistra] (Athens, 1937) was reprinted by the Archaeological Service
in Athens in 2000. See also Pari Kalamara, Η Πολιτεία του Μυστρά. Ώρες Βυζαντίου: Έργα και
ημέρες στο Βυζάντιο [The Town of Mistra: Hours of Byzantium: Works and Days of Byzantium]
(Athens, 2002); Stefanos Sinos, ed., Τα μνημεία του Μυστρά: το έργο της Επιτροπής Αναστήλωσης
μνημείων Μυστρά [The Monuments of Mistra: The Work of the Committee for the Restoration
of the Monuments of Mistra] (Athens, 2009); Myrtali Acheimastou-Potamianou, Mystras:
Historical and Archaeological Guide, trans. William W. Phelps (Athens, 2003); Manolis
Chatzidakis, Mystras, the Medieval City and the Castle: A Complete Guide to the Churches,
Palaces and the Castle (Athens, 1985). On Monemvasia see Haris A. Kalliga, Monemvasia:
A Byzantine City State (London, 2010); Alexandros Kalligas and Haris A. Kalliga,
Μονεμβασία: ξαναγράφοντας σε παλίμψηστα [Monemvasia: Rewriting on Palimpsests] (Athens,