In 1912 the Italians take over the island and declare themselves liberators of the Greek people from the Ottoman’s empire. Their arrival was met by hope and expectations that they would ensure the islands safety and independence and its union with the rest of Greece.
However, even from the early days of their arrival and especially after the peace treaty on the 18 October 1912 between the Italian State and the Ottoman Empire, their intentions were very different to what the Greeks expected. The Italians acquired legal ownership titles to the island, they enforced their own system of command and started carrying out many public works. During the period of 1923-1943 they started a wide programme of Italianising the Dodecanese under the auspices of the fascist government. The government intervened in education and on religious subjects. One of the most important projects the Italians undertook was the re-building of the new city of Kos after the catastrophic earthquake in 1933. From a typical medieval island, Kos became a modern well-planned metropolis of the East.

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