User:JMiall/Exobourgo

 Exobourgo is a mountain on the island of Tinos. It has a rugged appearance, unlike the other mountains in the Cyclades and is the site of a ruined Venetian fortress and town.

Exobourgo is not the highest mountain on the island, this is Tsiknias, but is in a central location ringed by a large number of small villages such as Tripotamos and Falatados and can be climbed from several of these. The walk up from Iera Kardia Iisou takes around 20 minutes.

History
Remains dating from the copper age have been found near Exobourgos and geometric period and 5-6th century BC have been found at archaelogical excavations at mountain's southern foot including a temple of Demeter An Ionian town dating from 1100BC is sited close to Exobourgos.

Fortress and town
The mountain was the site of a fortress and the administrative centre of the island from 1207 when the island, Andros, Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros became a fiefdom of the the Venetian Gizi (also Ghisi & Gyzis) brothers following the partition of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Constantinople during the fourth crusade.

In 1390, after the death of Batholomew III the last heir of the Gizis, the Venetians Republic assumed direct control and further fortified the mountain. The island fell to Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1537 but was recaptured by the Venetians in 1538. In 1570 a force of 8,000 Ottoman troops and several cannons beseiged the mountain but were successfully repulsed. Further failed attempts to capture the fortress were made in 1655, 1658, 1661, and 1684 The Venetians remained in charge until 1715 when, after the rest of the Cyclades had long since fallen to the Turks, it was besieged by a Turkish force of 65 warships and 74 transports carrying 25,000 soldiers. Despite the fortress seeming secure against the invaders the commander of the fortress negotiated terms and surrendered. The commander and his officers were accused of "treason after bribery" and sentenced to death by swallowing liquid silver, Bernardo Balbi, governor of the island, was transferred to Venice and sentenced to life imprisonment for cowardice. The Ottomans almost completely dismantled the fortress and the town inside it but did not rule over the island.

The town on the mountain was previously known as Tinos (Tine or Tino to the Venetians) with the current town of Tinos previously known as S. Nicolò. The name Exobourgo derives from the Greek exo apo to bourgo meaning 'outside the burg'

Sacred Heart of Jesus
The church of Iera Kardia Iisou (Sacred Heart of Jesus) is on the slopes of the mountain, it is now a Catholic monastery. The church has a complicated history: originally the Cathedral of Saint Sofia stood within the walls of the fortress but after its destruction the Jesuit monks moved into a small church outside the walls and began to build a larger church next door. This was finished in 1725 and also dedicated to Saint Sofia. The Jesuits later left the church and it fell into disrepair. In 1895 the church was restored and renamed the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today the church is a site of pilgrimage and hosts visitors from around the world.