The presence of the Kasimatis family in Kythera is placed by the literature at the beginning of the 14th century. The first relevant reference is made in a manuscript written by an unknown person at the end of the 16th century. The manuscript, deposited in the Marcian Library in Venice and published in 1884, bears the title: «L'antique memorie dell'isola di Cerigo ridotte in questi scritti».
According to this rich text, in the years when the brothers Gabriel, Bortholamio, Pietro and Nicolo Venier were the rulers of Kythera, the island was sparsely populated. For this reason they invited old Leo Casimati, who arrived from Skillou, with his family. In return for this action, he was relieved of all personal charges, which was noted in a privilege document that was operated on him.
Read the presentation of the historian Kostas Tsiknakis in a reprint from the H’ International Panhellenic Congress. (Kythera, 21-25 May 2006. Proceedings, vol. 3 History, Kythera, Kythera Studies Society, 2009, 574-590)
Biography of Kostas Tsiknakis
Kostas G. Tsiknakis was born in 1960 in Petrokefali, Heraklion, Crete. He studied at the Department of History and Archaeology of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Crete (1979-1983). He was a researcher at the Historical Archive of Greek Youth of the General Secretariat of the New Generation (1983-1984) and a fellow of the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Medieval Studies in Venice (1984-1987). Since 1989 he has been working at the Institute of Historical Research (Byzantine Research Department) of the National Hellenic Research Foundation. Within the framework of the programme «Byzantium and the West», she edits the publication of the reports of Venetian officials of the Venetian-occupied Greek area (16th-17th century). He has published books, studies and articles on medieval and modern Greek history
