The founding member of the Greek side of the Delenda family, Francesco Delenda, originally came from Catalonia, Spain, and settled in Athens during the 14th century. The family formed part of the aristocracy of the so-called Duchy of the Archipelago created in 1207 after the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders. The family crest bears a tower and a sword, topped by a five edge crown, which is the sign of the title of an Earl.
The Delenda family finally settled in Santorini and has had a long association with the island which continues today.
In the chapter on Santorini, Theodore writes:
The next eruption was in 1707, when New Burnt Island appeared in the centre of the basin by the side of the Old and Little. We are indebted for an account of this to an Italian MS written by Mr. Delenda, then the English consular agent at Santorin.
This would most likely have Jean Antoine Delenda whose manuscript served as one of the three main sources for l’Abbé Pègues’ book on the island. British Foreign Office records do not list him as consular agent although Gasparo Delenda (born 1774), possibly his grandson, seems to have served for many years. Of course, it could be that Gasparo was the only one whose records still exist from a line of Delendas with consular links to Britain.
A present-day descendant of the family, architect Nikos Delenda, has designed and built the Archipel Mansion in Fira on the site of the family’s former mansion. The Mansion is available for rent to visitors of the island.