In the medieval
Kingdom of Cyprus, Episkopi was granted in
fief to the
House of Ibelin. It was in the hands of
Federico Cornaro of the
Republic of Venice from 1367 and granted to him in 1374 by the indebted king.[2] It was known as La Piscopia da Cornaro, and the branch of the
Cornaro family descended from Federico became known as Cornaro Piscopia.[3] The Cornaros ran a large
sugar plantation in their fief near Episkopi that employed
slaves of Syrian or Arab origin or local
serfs.[4]
^Verlinden, Charles (1970). "The Transfer of Colonial Techniques from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic". The beginning of Modern Colonization. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 19–21.