Castle in Naoussa

A small Venetian fortress, raised at the close of the fifteenth century, once guarded the harbour of Naoussa on Paros. Its seawalls now lie beneath the water, and the fort itself, together with those sunken walls, is all that remains of the medieval fortified settlement. Venetian rule over Paros began in 1207, when Marco Sanudo founded the Duchy of Naxos, and lasted until 1537, when the Ottoman pirate Hayredin Barbarossa sacked the island. The first castle at Naoussa was built in the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century, but it was the Sommaripa family, rulers during the fifteenth century, who renovated the port fortification against pirate raids. Around 1500 they added the characteristic circular tower with firing apertures at the harbour entrance. Today the site is a coastal fortress in average condition, its principal interest lying in those submerged walls and the sturdy round tower, a quiet relic of Venetian sea power.

Heritage data from Wikidata, compiled and verified in the Atika atlas.