A handwritten notarial deed beside blue-and-white Venetian maiolica vessels
«… a blue maiolica plate …»— from a notarial inventory, Venetian Crete

Research project

Exploring the Material Culture of Venetian Crete: A Historical and Archaeological Perspective

The project began in 2019 with the aim of collecting and systematically recording information on everyday objects (furniture, utilitarian and storage items, tools, etc.) found in the houses and workshops of Venetian Crete. The material under investigation comes from both published and unpublished archival sources, primarily notarial acts such as inventories of real estate, dowry appraisals, and workshop leases. At regular intervals, new material is drawn from these sources – mainly notarial records – and is documented according to specific criteria. The objective of the project is to feed a database and produce synthetic studies that will highlight aspects of the material culture of Crete by linking textual sources with material remains.

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Publications
  1. Α. Panopoulou, A. G. Yangaki, «The archival evidence as a source on the ‘life-cycles’ of ceramic objects: snapshots from documents on Venetian Crete», στο: A. García Porras, M. Busto Zapico, L. Martín Ramos, M. J. Peregrina Sánchez (επιμ.), XIII Congreso Internacional sobre Cerámica Medieval y Moderna en el Mediterráneo (AIECM3) (Granada, del 8 al 13 noviembre de 2021), Μαδρίτη 2024, 557-561.
  2. Α. G. Yangaki, A. Panopoulou, “The Cretan Household in Urban and Rural Areas During the Venetian Period: A Comparative Approach Deploying Archival Sources and Archaeological Evidence”, στο: E. Athanassopoulos, F. Kondyli, K. Ragkou (επιμ.), The Medieval Household: A multidisciplinary approach [μελέτες που παρουσιάστηκαν στο: 24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies Byzantium – Bridge Between Worlds, Venice and Padua, 22-27 August 2022], (υπό έκδοση)
  3. Α. Γ. Γιαγκάκη, Α. Πανοπούλου, ««… μία ἀπλάδενα μαγιόλικη μπλάβη […] ἀκόμι πηθάρια μεγάλα για καρπό ὀκτῶ …»: ‘Βίοι’ κεραμικών και ‘βίοι’ ανθρώπων της βενετοκρατούμενης Κρήτης», στο: 13th International Congress of Cretan Studies (Agios Nikolaos, 5-9 October 2022) (υπό έκδοση).

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