Venetian Butrint

The Venetian Republic purchased Butrint, with the island of Corfu, in 1386 from the Angevins Kings of southern Italy. The main importance of Butrint for the Venetians was the strategic advantage of having an outpost on the mainland and the financial value of the fisheries in Lake Butrint

Despite its vital strategic value, Butrint functioned essentially as an outpost on the mainland administered from Corfu and under the jurisdiction of the governor of that island. The Venetian presence at Butrint was in effect an enclave on the Ottoman mainland, and hence the fate of the city was often determined by the relations between these two empires.

After the fall of the Venetian republic in 1797, and the French occupation of the Ionian Islands, Butrint was occupied by Ali Pasha of Tepelena, marking the end of the Venetian presence on the mainland.

However, the antiquarian studies developed through the Renaissance would form a lasting legacy for Butrint, and the site became a key theatre of interest, first for painters, artists and grand tourists, then for archaeologist.