 Greek remained spoken by the peasantry whereas Venetian was adopted by the upper class and it was generally preferred within the towns (like in Corfu city were nearly all the population spoke the "Veneto de Mar").Thus, the Venetian language became, if not the common language of the Ionians, at least the prestigious language.The Venetians did little in the area of education, mainly due to the fact that schooling was not considered a responsibility of the state at that time in Europe but a private matter.