Stato da Màr
The Stato da Màr or Domini da Mar (lit. 'State of the Sea' or 'Domains of the Sea') was the Republic of Venice's maritime and overseas possessions from around 1000 to 1797, including at various times parts of what are now Istria, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece and notably the Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, Crete, Cyclades, Euboea, as well as Cyprus.
| State of the Sea Stato da Màr (vec) | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overseas colonies of the Republic of Venice | |||||||||||||||||
| c. 992–1797 | |||||||||||||||||
Map of the Venetian overseas domains | |||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||||||
• Pietro II Orseolo's expedition | Late 10th century | ||||||||||||||||
| 1202–04 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1463–79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1645–69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1684–99 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1714–18 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 May 1797 | |||||||||||||||||
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It was one of the three subdivisions of the Republic of Venice's possessions, the other two being the Dogado, i.e. Venice proper, and the Domini di Terraferma in northern Italy.
The overseas possessions, particularly islands such as Corfu, Crete, and Cyprus, played a critical role in Venice's commercial and military leadership. In his landmark study on the Mediterranean world in the 16th century, historian Fernand Braudel described these islands as "Venice's motionless fleet".