The family claims descent from the legendary
Twelve noble families of Crete variously claimed to have been settled on the island either by Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos () or already by
Nikephoros Phokas (). Thus the early 17th-century
cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli included the following information in
Biblioteca Universale Sacro-Profana: [...] Many succeeding emperors tried to take back [Crete from the
Muslim rulers]; but it was always in vain, and with losses. Finally [...],
Romanos II recommended the enterprise to
Nikephoros Phokas, who, after seven months of cruel war, on March 4th, 961 [C.E.], destroyed the
Saracens, took
Candia as [the Saracens'] main city by arms and led [the Cretan emir
Kouroupas] triumphantly to the
Hippodrome. [He] left
St. Nikon to return the Christian religion [to the island], and a colony of twelve noble families to propagate it, who were families
Armena;
Calojera; Anatolica; Curiaci, i.e., Saturnini, now called Cortazzi; Vespesiani, called Meliseni; called Sutili; Pampini, called Ulastò; Romuli, called Claudi; Aliati, called
Scordili Colonesi, called Coloini;
Orsini, called Areulada; and Phoca of
Nikephoros Phokas' own blood. [These families were called] the First Ones, later the Arghondopuli [
archontopoula], from the word
arghia, which means magistrate, rector, or commander, because they dominated the island for many long years ahead of the convulsions of the [Byzantine] Empire, and they were perhaps the greatest enemies of the
Venetian]Republic, even though they also benefitted the most [under Venetian rule]. It is likely that Coronelli’s inclusion of the Calogerà in the 12 noble families of
Crete, or
archontopoula, is based on
Andrea Corner's (1547 – )
Storia di Candia, the first literary work to deal exclusively with the island’s history. Similarly, in ''
Revue de l'Orient Latin'', Vol. 11 (1908),
Louis-Ernest Leroux provides further context in the following passage: Thus, [
Nikephoros Phokas ] subdued and ransacked the whole island, which for 142 years had been occupied and lorded by barbarians, and he had it settled and left in the form of a colony, for its greater security, under noble families originally from
Constantinople [
nobili Costantinopolitani] of the
Màggiori and of the
Senatorial order, namely: the Armeni; the
Caleteri; the Anatolici, also called Cortezzi; the Cargenti, that is, Saturnini; the Vespesiani, also called Melissini; […] the Sutili; the Papiliani, also called
Vlasti; the Romuli, also called Claudi; the Aliotti, also called Scordilli; the Colonessi, also called Coloini; the Irtini, also called Arculendi; and the Phoca, of the same blood of the Phoca from whom the noble
house of Calergi originated. Numerous other historians have written about the Calogerà family over the centuries. In his 1935 book
Calogeras, Antonio Gontijo de Carvalho describes the family's origins: belonged a traditional European family that originated, according to some historians, from the island of
Cyprus. The family’s name is associated with a Greek word that translates to "
good, old man" or "
respectable by age." It derives from the term for an Oriental
monk. Formerly, the word also referred to Latin hermits. But the qualifier has since been applied to Greek schismatics, male or female, who observe the rule of
St. Basil or St. Marcellus. By its
etymology, the word refers only to elder monks, but its use has been extended to include all of the monks living at
Mt. Athos. [...] One fifth century family member,
St. Calogerus, exists in universal
hagiology and also figures in the family's
coat-of-arms. With the schism of the
Orthodox Church, one part [of the family] continued in the Roman apostolic rite; the other, more numerous, part adhered to the Eastern creed. In
her father's biography
The Alexiad,
Anna Komnene gives the explanation that, having come to reside in
Byzantium, [the Calogerà family] formed alliances with the
Komnenos [Note though that the name Kalogeras does not in fact appear in the
Alexiad, nor in any Komnenian-era source, cf. Prosopography of the Byzantine World]. During the
Ottoman conquests, numerous bearers of the Calogerà name fell victim to the Turks. Breathtaking works such as Chiotis'
Historia de Zante, Marmora's
Historia de Corfú, Eugene Rizo Rangabé's ''
Livre d'Or de la Noblesse Ionienne, and the Genealogia delle Famiglie Venete'' each contain biographies of the most distinguished individuals of this important family. In 1431, John Calogerà assumed the post of adviser to
Duke Acciaoli in Athens during
Attica's period of short-lived sovereignty from [
Catalan rule in] southern Italy. In 1499,
Ambassador Matheus Calogerà was sent to Venice on behalf of the
Rector of
Zante in order to obtain the constitution of [Venetian] territorial property from the
Senate. Following the Turkish conquest of Cyprus in 1501 [sic], the Calogerà took refuge on the island of
Crete, where they were inscribed in the
Golden Book of the Nobility of that island, and they became feudatory barons under
Venetian domination. Several members of the family entered the religious orders; innumerable others were distinguished in war and rendered valuable services to the
Republic of Venice, for which they were recognized in various decrees by the
Senate and the
Doges. In 1537, after the
Siege of Suleiman [the Magnificent], families of the nobility, among whom were the main branch of the Calogerà, left Crete to settle in
Corfu. The Calogerà were inscribed in the
Golden Book of this island in 1644 and thereafter never ceased to appear in every list of its nobles. After the
conquest of Crete by the Turks in 1669, another branch, which had remained on the island [of Crete], was to settle in [the city of]
Venice, where its members were immediately assimilated into the nobility [sic], [and whose nobility was] confirmed by the
Emperor of Austria in 1816 when the
Adriatic city was
occupied by that mighty nation. Upon the death of a certain General Calogerà, aide-de-camp to King Constantine of Greece, the senior branch of the Calogerà family of Corfu went extinct, as he left behind no descendants of his own. Among others, the family produced such illustrious individuals as Draco Calogerà (b. 1540), second son of Dimo, who led as
Admiral in the
Venetian navy, as did relatives Francesco Calogerà (b. 1599) and Zorzi Calogerà (b. 1677). Antonio Calogerà, head of the Venetian branch, was killed in 1684 in the taking of
Nauplia, when the Venetian fleet fought to reclaim the
Morea [from Ottoman rule]. Several members of the family were awarded knighthoods in the
Order of Saint Mark. In the in Venice, one finds, surmounted by his
coat-of-arms, the tomb of Demetrio Calogerà, who died in 1682 and who was a direct descendant of the main branch of Corfu. John Paul Calogerà, who died in 1702, was the Venetian
military governor of
Bergamo. Spiridion Calogerà, killed in 1754, was admiral of the
arsenal in Corfu. And
Marco Calogerà was
Bishop of Kotor,
Dalmatia, in 1856.
Giovan Battista di Crollalanza's masterpiece,
Dizionario Storico-Blasonico delle Famiglie Nobili e Notabili Italiane, Estinte e Fiorenti (1886), describes the
Venetian- and
Dalmatian branches of the family: CALOGERÀ of
Venice. — Originally from
Corfu, they obtained
Septinsular nobility during the
epoch of Venetian domination. — In the 16th century, some immigrated to
Italy, and a branch settled in Venice; it is from this branch that we are given
Angelo,
Camaldolese monk, born in
Padua, famous for his compilation of
philological and scientific booklets known as
Calogerà's Collection [
la Raccolta Calogerana]. —
Marco [Kalogjera],
Bishop of Split. — A branch of this family still flourishes in
Udine. —
ARMS: Of azure [background], a silver, beamless anchor, its shaft accented with a green
cedar branch bearing a single, yellow fruit on its left side; all accompanied at the top by a star of eight golden rays. Reverend
Hugh James Rose's arrangement of
A New General Biographical Dictionary, Vol. V (1848) mentions the religion of the Corfiote-Venetian branch of the Calogerà family in the article of
Angelo Calogerà: The Calogerà family also belonged to the nobility of
Athens and intermarried with other Byzantine-Athenian noble families, such as the
Benizelos family. According to the : In December 2008, the Municipality of
Blato, in addition to the All Saints Parish of Blato and the
Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in
Dubrovnik, commemorated the 120th anniversary of the death of
Marko Kalogjera,
Bishop of Split and Makarska, by conducting a scientific research conference in his honor. In
Biskup Marko Kalogjera o 120. obljetnici smrti: Zbornik radova znanstvenog skupa održanog u prosincu 2008. u Blatu, Svezak 1. (translated,
Bishop Marko Kalogjera, on the 120th Anniversary of his Death: Proceedings of the Conference Held in December 2008 in Blato, Vol. I),
Damir Boras, President of the
University of Zagreb, provides an account of the history of the Calogerà family in
Croatia: The Kalogjera family is originally from the Greek realm, and the
Greek name means
good, old man. In the past, members of the Kalogjera family were mostly soldiers and
priests, but also officials,
physicians, and traders. There were several admirals of the
Venetian fleet, generals, colonels,
military attachés,
galley commanders, and ministers, and among them we also find a governor, a consul, and even one imperial governor. Moreover, the family has produced
pedagogues, teachers,
bishops, and
abbots, and among its members we find excellent
musicologists and writers as well as merchants and
industrialists. Most contemporary family members are scientists, doctors, lawyers, engineers, economists, and musicians, and most are college-educated people. [...] ==Legacy==