 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
The History of Parga
At the time of Plutarch and Ptolemy , Parga was called Toryni and was located on the site of what is today the Old City. In antiquity, under the name of Elaia, it served as a seaport for Epirus and enjoyed economic prosperity and cultural influence.
On account of its exceptional location Parga was always occupied from
Mycenian times until it became Greek. Its existence is mentioned for the
first time in 1320 during transactions between the Venetians and the Despotate
of Romania.
The city and its fortress were, at one point, under the protection of
the Normans but when they abandoned it, it was subjected to constant raids
and had to ask the Venetians for their assistance.
Thus, in 1401 a treaty was signed in Corfu between Baylo Azarino and a
delegation of citizens from Parga. This treaty lasted for four hundred
years and proved very beneficial. Protected by the Venetians, the city
was run by a Patrician Assembly and a governor.
In the course of those four centuries the city suffered from many but
short periods of upheavals. It was besieged, conquered, looted many times
and its fortress destroyed.
In 1571, the Venetians recaptured Parga and made it into the most important seaport of Epirus. From this date until 1819 the city managed to remain free, grew and became prosperous thanks to its shipping trade in the region and beyond.It still faced Ottoman attacks but they always failed.
In 1718, with the treaty of Pasarovitz Parga is once more under the protection
of the Venetians and became a haven and a supply center for the fugitives
of the Greek revolution opposed to the Turkish invaders.This rôle enraged
Ali Pasha who tried to conquer the city by all possible means but without
success. Later, in 1797 with the treaty of Campo Formio, France, the most
powerful country at the time, became the new protector of Parga. When
Ali Pasha launched another attack against Parga, the city requested the
assistance of the Russian navy and fell under the protection of a Russo-Turkish
guard.
