Castle of Kythira

The Castle of Kythira is the island’s defining monument, perched on a high south-facing rock above Chora and surviving in reasonably good condition. Its story begins with the Venetian takeover after the Latin conquest of 1204. From 1207, Marco Venier ruled as first lord, and his successor Bartolomeo consolidated the family’s grip in 1238 by marrying the daughter of the Greek noble Eudaimonogiannis of Monemvasia. The Veniers lost the island to the Byzantine-serving Lombard knight Licario in 1279, but regained it in 1308, with Emperor Andronikos II formally recognising Venetian jurisdiction in 1310. From 1325 a Venetian-appointed Castellano shared authority, and from the early 1500s a Provveditore under the Duke of Crete took charge, though the Veniers remained influential until Venice stripped their powers in 1530. Ottoman rule interrupted Venetian control only briefly in 1715-1718. The present fabric dates largely from a 1503 reconstruction, which produced the main body and facade. Later French, Russo-Turkish and British administrations followed the republic’s fall in 1797.

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