The Bay of Fraschia. Characteristics and Function in the Maritime and Shipping Activities of Venetian Crete (15th–16th Centuries)

Abstract

While the role, architecture, and use of the port of Candia on Crete have been extensively studied, little is known about the island’s other ports and bays. This article considers key questions to evaluate the role of Fraschia Bay in Venetian Crete’s port system and, by extension, in Venetian shipping activities in the late fifteenth century and mainly during the sixteenth. What kind of shipping activities were carried out in Fraschia Bay - commercial (legitimate and illegitimate) or/and military? What types of ships docked there? And under what circumstances was the bay used, especially compared to the port of Candia? The analysis, based on unpublished archival documents of the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, aims to determine whether the activities carried out in the bay of Fraschia were part of the integrated port system of Candia, or whether Fraschia Bay served only as an occasional substitute. The analysis concludes that Fraschia served a complex purpose in Candia’s port system and as a substitute port at times when Candia was unsuitable, due to weather conditions or construction operations. Moreover, Fraschia Bay’s role went well beyond official mercantile shipping, since it also supported military activities and the movement of contraband.