Venetians

I didn't do much research on Naxos before I came... family island, Temple of Apollo, nice beaches.  What I didn't know was that there was a Venetian castle.  The Venetians fascinate me.  They tried to conquer twice, once as part of the perverted fourth crusade  of 1204 that sacked Byzantium instead of Jerusalem, and a second time in the 17th century when Morosini blew up the Parthenon, which the Turks had been using to store powder.  The Venetians had an enormous impact on Greece, but there are very few places where you can learn about their history.

According to the Naxos Island official website, Naxos was occupied by the Venetian Marco Sanudo in 1207, and the Venetians never really left Naxos.  During the Turkish occupation, the Turks let the Venetian families rule Naxos, and just required heavy taxes from them.  One family that settled on Naxos was the Della Roca family.  At the museum, we learned that this family descended from Othon De La Roche, one of the Burgundian crusaders, and the crusader who was granted the Duchy of Athens and Thebes.  They also descend from the Venetian Barozzi family, which had at some points ruled Naxos.  Descendants of this family bought the Venetian castle in Naxos in the early 20th century, and still own it.  They've turned it into a museum with artifacts from their family's history, along with a tour of the building. The building is fascinating with lots of trap doors and lower floors.  We were told that there are trap doors and exits that lead all the way down to the port in case the family needed to escape.  We had a wonderful time exploring and admiring the views.

The wife of the owner who bought the house in 1907.

The needlepoint at top shows the Normans conquering England.

The family's office.

Views from the balcony.  The castle has a 180 degree view of the sea around the island.

Venetian book from 1745

Looking down one of the trap doors to the storage below.

Looking up at another trap door from below.

The family adds a summer music festival to its offerings every year for the last 17.  The man in the middle is the owner.

Music, dancing, costumes... it was wonderful.  It also include tastings of raki, rakomelo, and wine.

At the end they taught us a little Greek dancing.  Here is the gang with the dancers.

The museum and festival were things we just stumbled upon as we explored, and then took a chance on.  The museum was fascinating, and the musical evening was wonderful beyond expectation.  The concert began as the sun set, and was held ina little courtyard that overlooked the island.  I was in the last row, with my back against walls that were 800 years old.  As I leaned against the wall, soaking in the Greek folk music, watching very skilled dancers, I could not have been happier.  I think most of the students felt the same way.  What a wonderful, unexpected surprise, the kind that hook you on travel forever.