Subsequent to the gracious invitation of the Cultural Association TEXNH ART PATMOS, where I have the honour of being a member, I was delighted to give a lecture on Venice to the international set of friends that spend summers in their beautiful, old mansions in Chora - the capital of the island.

Sure that many of them had visited Venice, the theme of the lecture was specific: the birth of the city emerging from the waters, its ties to the Byzantine Empire that strengthened it in order to expand its possessions of the Greek islands of the Aegean and Ionian Seas and, finally, its stormy rapport with the Ottoman Empire. All these factors influenced the Serenissima so much that many scholar-travellers said that the Orient actually began in Venice.

The lecture was held in the charming garden of a dear Italian friend overlooking the picturesque harbour, with the moon sending its silvery light onto the sea to illuminate the sailboats that were peacefully anchored there.

Learn more: MY VENICE

The author on the island of Patmos, Greece