Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VI: administration and settlement in Venetian Navarino

Hesperia, Wntr, 2004 by Siriol Davis

PRIVATE LAND

There was little private property under the Ottoman system. In the Venetian period the land claimed by the native population, on the grounds of long-term possession, presumably consisted of those plots of arable land that they had worked under the tapu system. (136) The peasantry were asked to show proof of their titles; since most of them lacked documentation, they were allowed to prove their entitlement (beneprobatum) on the evidence of two witnesses. The situation after the war naturally provided an opportunity for aggrandizement of plots and usurpation of neighboring land. The Sindici Catasticatori found it necessary to institute an "inquisition," asking priests and village elders to verify claims. (137)

Another category of land was that assigned to religious foundations. The register of church property commissioned by Grimani in 1700 lists Orthodox monasteries and churches with the property they claimed as theirs. Legitimate claims were registered and a diploma issued. No Orthodox monasteries were recorded for the territory of Navarino. Ecclesiastical property in the territory totaled 15 churches (one in New Navarino, seven in Cavallaria, six in Ligudista, one in Scarmega), one and a half houses (or cells), 233 zappade of vines, 612 olive trees, one "piece" of land, and half a stremma of land. (138) A monastery dedicated to St. George in the village of Saprichi in the territory of Modon held property in the villages of Cavallaria, Ligudista, and Tristena. The property of the monastery, which included holdings in other villages of the territory of Modon, was held by diploma from the Sindici Inquisitori or as tenancies. (139)

Once the title to property of private individuals or the church was established, the Venetians needed to determine the extent of unclaimed land and commissioned a series of cadasters. The more detailed of these, only two of which were completed, provide a wealth of information on landholding, listing the property of each householder in a village. While cadastral surveys were undertaken for the territories of Navarino, Arcadia, and Modon, none appear to have survived. (140) In the early years of the Venetian occupation, the authorities--without access to cadastral documents--distributed land in an ad hoc manner and on variable terms. Since they had no records, they were reliant on local people to come forward and inform them of what land was available. Grants of property could include land, trees, vineyards, gardens, orchards, houses, oil presses, and mills.

PUBLIC LAND

The settlement and distribution of land to refugees from outside the Morea was of primary importance for the Venetians. (141) Immigrants to the Morea were awarded grants (concessioni) of public land on favorable terms, that is to say rent-free, with the only obligation being payment of the tithe on produce. The records usually give the origins of family groups, for example, Chiots, "Rumeliotti" (from central Greece), Athenians, or Cretans. Those who did not claim to belong to any distinct group were described as being "of no particular nation" (non esprime natione). For the purpose of determining the quality and quantity of the property grants, distinctions were made on the basis of three factors: first, the origins of the settlers, some being favored over others (e.g., in the north of the peninsula Athenians had priority, in the south Chiots, because they had deserted their respective homelands en masse after the end of Venetian occupation); second, their economic status in their country of origin (graded from one to four, with a standard size of award for each grade); and third, the time of their arrival and the size of the group.142 Some particularly deserving immigrants were given exceptionally large grants of land, which in some cases included rights over the resident peasantry; they could assume the title conte and the terms of their grants differed from ordinary concessions. (143)