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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

Map of Tino Micono (Mykonos)        

Key dates:
1207 Marco Sanudo, a Venetian adventurer, conquered Nasso and the nearby islands including Micono
1566 The last Duke of Nasso, Jacopo IV Crispo was cashiered by the Sultan, but before that date the Republic of Venice took control of Micono and nearby Tino.
1714 The Ottomans landed on Tino with a large army and conquered its fortress; this led to the end of the Venetian rule also on Micono.

Micono is located in a central position, very close to Tino and not far from Siro, Nasso and Paris. It did not have the same importance as the other islands because its natural harbours had no protection from meltemi, the strong northern wind which blows on the Aegean Sea.

View of the old part of the town
View of the old part of the town

The Venetian town was built on a low and small headland which only partially protected a cove. It faced north so when the meltemi blew ships could not moor.

Little Venice
Little Venice

Venetian houses were built right on the edge of the low cliff: they probably did not have so many balconies.

Old house and Catholic Cathedral
Old house and Catholic church

Micono became very popular in the 1960s for its naturist and somewhat transgressive beaches; unfortunately this brought such a touristic development that it led to disfiguring the character and the landscape of the island: SUVs everywhere, very anonymous and expensive hotels, the kind of shops you find in big cities, the kind of bars you find in big cities, the kind of people you find in big cities.
The only memories of the past can be traced in a limited number of old houses and churches and in particular in the Catholic one.

Inscription
Inscription at the Catholic church

The church was renovated by Bishop Angelo Venier during the pontificate of Pope Innocent XI (1676-89). This pope financially supported the Republic of Venice during the 1685-99 war which led to the conquest of Morea (Peloponnese).
The coat of arms of the King of France was most likely placed above the inscription after 1714, the year Micono became an Ottoman possession. France acted, with the permission of the Sultans, as protector of the Catholics living in the Ottoman Empire: the coat of arms meant the church was under French protection.

Windmills
Windmills

In the late XVIIIth century and in the early XIXth century Tino and Siro, as well as other Greek islands, developed a large merchant navy which supplied the various provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The corn bought in Syria or in the Anatolian tableland was processed in Mikono and this explains why there are so many windmills on the island.
The image used as background for this page shows Agia Paraportiani in the old burg.

Introductory page on the Venetian Fortresses

Map of the fortresses Corfu Butrinto Dodoni Ioanina Parga Paxi Preveza Nikopolis Vonizza Santamaura/Lefkada Asso Itaca Patrasso, Castel di Rumelia, Castel di Morea Lepanto Cefalonia Zante Navarino Calamata Castel Tornese and Glarenza Modon Corone Mistrà Malvasia Castelrosso Schiatto Scopello Alonisso Negroponte Oreo Corinto Egina Atene Hadrian's Athens Napoli di Romania/Nafplio Argo Cerigo/Kythira Tinos Micono Milo Nasso Candia/Creta Fortresses of Maina Lemno Stampalia Scio Schiro Andro Spezzia Imbro Tenedo Patmo Lero Calimno Metelino Metimno Cunda Candarli Fochies Cismes Argentiera Sifno Serifo Paris Antiparis Siro Rhodes Coo Castel S. Pietro Lindos Nissiros Symi Castelrosso (Kastelorizo) The Asklepeion of Kos Santorino Folegandros Afrodisias Ephesus Kale Sultanieh Kilitbahir Pergamum Sardis Seddulbahir Roman Smyrna Delphi Priene Miletus Didyma Iasos Euromos Milas default - Corfù
Clickable map: hover on the dots

On the Ionian Islands:     Corfù (Kerkyra)     Paxo (Paxi)     Santa Maura (Lefkadas)     Cefalonia (Kephallonia)     Asso (Assos)     Itaca (Ithaki)     Zante (Zachintos)     Cerigo (Kythera)
On the mainland: Butrinto (Butrint)     Parga     Preveza and Azio (Aktion)     Vonizza (Vonitsa)     Lepanto (Nafpaktos)     Atene (Athens)
On Morea:     Castel di Morea (Rio), Castel di Rumelia (Antirio) and Patrasso (Patra)     Castel Tornese (Hlemoutsi) and Glarenza     Navarino (Pilo) and Calamata     Modon (Methoni)     Corone (Koroni)     Braccio di Maina, Zarnata, Passavà and Chielefà     Mistrà     Corinto (Korinthos)     Argo (Argos)     Napoli di Romania (Nafplio)     Malvasia (Monemvassia)
On the Aegean Sea:     Negroponte (Chalki)     Castelrosso (Karistos)     Oreo     Lemno (Limnos)     Schiatto (Skiathos)     Scopello (Skopelos)     Alonisso     Schiro (Skyros)     Andro (Andros)     Tino (Tinos)     Micono (Mykonos)     Siro (Syros)     Egina (Aegina)     Spezzia (Spetse)     Paris (Paros)     Antiparis (Andiparos)     Nasso (Naxos)     Serifo (Serifos)     Sifno (Syphnos)     Milo (Milos)     Argentiera (Kimolos)     Santorino (Thira)     Folegandro (Folegandros)     Stampalia (Astipalea)     Candia (Kriti)
Genoese Bases:     Metelino (Mytilini)     Metimno (Molyvos)     Cunda (Alibey)     Fochies (Foca)     Candarli     Cismes (Cesme)     Scio (Chios)
Fortresses of the Knights of Rhodes:     Lero (Leros)     Calimno (Kalimnos)     Coo (Kos)     Castel S. Pietro (Bodrum)     Symi     Nissiros     Rhodes (Rodos)     Lindos     Castelrosso (Kastelorizo)     Other fortresses
Ottoman fortresses:     Imbro (Gokceada)     Tenedo (Bozcaada)     Seddulbahir     Kale Sultanieh (Canakkale)     Cilitbahir
Other locations shown in the map:     Patmos     Dodoni (Dodona)     Nikopolis     Hadrian's Athens     Pergamum     Roman Smyrna     Sardis (Sart)     Ephesus     Afrodisia     Delphi     Ioanina    Kos    Priene    Miletus    Didyma    Iasos    Euromos    Milas

You may refresh your knowledge of the history of Venice in the Levant by reading an abstract from the History of Venice by Thomas Salmon, published in 1754. The Italian text is accompanied by an English summary.