Chartzani Tower

Chartzani Tower stands as a ruined Byzantine relic in the hills north of Karystos on Evia, its name tied to a local legend of Queen Chartzana, a Byzantine princess said to have lived there in the time of Emperor Basil II. That story places the tower in the 11th century or slightly before, and the building's fabric supports the claim: its masonry is distinctly Byzantine, quite unlike the later Frankish and Venetian towers scattered across the island. The structure survives only in a rather poor state, a shadow of its original form, yet enough remains to show a defensive keep of modest scale. The construction technique, with its characteristic brick and stone patterning, marks it as an early medieval work, predating the Latin occupiers who reshaped Evia's fortifications in the centuries that followed. For the visitor, it is a quiet, weathered monument, more evocative in its ruined condition than any restored castle might be.