The Venetians first arrived in Preveza in the 11th century, when fishermen from the island of Burano settled in the area alongside the Greeks. The humble settlement evolved gradually until, in 1292, Genoese warships raided Preveza during the war of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos against the ruler of Epirus Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas. The Venetians returned as raiders against both the Byzantines and the Ottomans until they managed to establish their rule for 79 years in 1718.