May 21st, 1503

Heraklion, Candia

The Venetian Senate was not known for being... decisive in times of crisis. Politics were like that - when you lived in a state where people got to vote on how the government would do things, interests always flared up, and someone was always left unhappy. But the situation in Candia was a disaster far beyond what even the most pessimistic of Venetians could have imagined, and a significant response was required. Doge Leonardo Loredan knew this, and after watching deliberation in the Signoria stretch on for months, he decided to step in himself. Not seven days later, it was announced that the Columns of Knossos Act had been signed into law, and a significant amount of the budget of the Republic allocated to the rebuilding of Venice's fortress in the Aegean.

The immediate focus of the Republic was reinforcing the mercantile abilities of the island. As such, facilities in the port cities of Rethimno and Chania were immediately set upon by a legion of Venetian engineers and planners to bring them up to speed, and the ports of Sitia and Elounda saw a swarm of merchant shipping to their natural harbors while the larger ports were under repair. This rush of activity greatly bolstered the harbors of these two cities [114], who would grow naturally over the following years [province values increased by .05]. Rethimno would be brought up decently well in the next few years [53; province value increase of .03 in January 1505], while Chania would see significant improvement from it's more focused investment [86; province value increase of .05 in January 1505, immediate increase in province population by 2500].

Heraklion, of course, was a different story - one of the worst port disasters in historical memory had decimated the once crowning harbor of Candia. Investment here would be significant and wide-ranging. Initially, further salvage efforts would be conducted, which were widely successful in finding more sellable naval supplies [87]. This would do well for reducing later overall costs. Next, a new navigation channel was cleared in place of a full harbor reconstruction, which goes pretty well. [70] Next, much of the rest of the old harbor was filled in using mining refuse and some dedicated stonework, which created a relatively stable base for future mercantile buildings [99]. Merchants are slow to move into the new quarter [42], but time should sort that out eventually.

To replace the infilled harbor, a nearby natural bay is to be expanded upon for resumption of merchant activities. The quality of the new harbor looks to be adequate when complete [65] and will likely be finished well ahead of schedule [88]. This should hopefully restore mercantile life in Heraklion to somewhart normalcy, though it will likely never recover to pre-inferno levels. [province value will not decrease, slight value increase of .02 in January 1505]

The crown jewel of this renewal project, of course was the new church built on the site of the old harbor. Christened 'I Céxa San Dionigi, the new church stands a shining marvel at the site of such destruction, and will serve as a worthy monument to both the lives lost in the inferno, and to Christianity itself. [88]

The sailors stranded on Candia following the blaze had begin to create lives on the island, and end up settling down around Heraklion - all the new investment bringing good chances for work. [pop increase of 7500 for province]

All in all, the act is widely successful, and the people of Venice credit Doge Loredan almost exclusively for his political savvy, and public support for his bereaved citizens. His popularity is higher than ever. [96]