How much do we really know about the Greek islands and their history? What were they called in the past and how have they changed over the centuries? To whom did they belong? Did you know that Antiparos, a beautiful small island in the Cyclades, has its own special history? Few people know that its castle was given as a dowry to a man.
Antiparos, the Greek Cycladic island with a special history
According to history, Antiparos and its castle was a well-fortified settlement that had a certain form for many years. The Venetians created the castle in the 15th century and it had a different structure from the classic fortified settlement. It was not on a high and dominant point, unlike most of the Cycladic islands. Antiparos, formerly called “Oliaros” during the Byzantine years, had to deal with various raids mainly by Saracens. At the beginning of the 15th century, it had been a base of pirates who were preying on the strait of Antiparos, the “14-foot strait”.
The whole island has been given as a dowry
The period of pirates ended when the island’s ruler became the Venetian Giovanni Lorenano. In fact, the island was given as a dowry! Antiparos was then the dowry of his wife Maria Somarripa, whose family were lords of Paros and relatives of the Sanudes.
Giovanni Lorentano built his house on the island and essentially revived the island. He set up new residents at his own expense, building houses around the “House of the Lord”, the Castle around 1440. Forty years later Antiparos was again the subject of a dowry. Antiparos was the dowry that Domenico Pizani, son of the Duke of Crete, received for his marriage to Princess Fiorenza, the daughter of the Duke of Naxos.
Received message. Here is a possible way to rewrite the sentence in active voice: Antiparos was the dowry that Domenico Pizani, son of the Duke of Crete, received for his marriage to Princess Fiorenza, the daughter of the Duke of Naxos.
Apart from Antiparos, Pizani took Santorini island as a dowry.
Antiparos remained in the House of Pizani until 1537 when it re-entered the jurisdiction of the House of Lorenano. However, the Ottoman corsair Hairedin Barbarossa looted the island in the same year. Antiparos went through various adventures and historical events and then fought against the Ottomans in the Greek Revolution of 1821. It joined the Greek State in 1832.
Antiparos Island is an ideal choice if you want a cosmopolitan feeling in your vacations. It’s a small and picturesque Greek island in the Cyclades that has experienced a great increase in tourism in recent years. With its beautiful beaches and picturesque alleys, you’ll definitely experience what we call “Holidays with a Cycladic color”.
