Castle of Lardos

The Castle of Lardos stands on a hill tongue just over a kilometre from its village, separated from the plateau by a moat and now cut by a modern road. Its origins are uncertain: the Knights of St John do not mention it in their archives, and when the casale was granted to Vignolo de Vignoli after the occupation of Rhodes in 1307/09, no castle was included. It may have existed under Byzantine rule, but this remains speculation. The irregular plan follows the terrain, and the surviving south wall stretches thirty metres, flanked by two square towers and preserved up to its battlement parapet. A larger tower on the west, with walls 2.2 metres thick, was probably residential, retaining traces of a barrel vault and a cistern. A barbican was added later, perhaps in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. Much of the enceinte has vanished, likely through stone robbery, and erosion has taken its toll. The castle probably served as a local refuge, though in 1479 its people were ordered to shelter at Lindos.

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