Matzouranogianni

A late Byzantine tower-house stands on the same hill as the great Frankish castle of Karytaina, though outside its walls and built at least a century after the fortress was raised in the mid-1200s. The Franks held Karytaina until 1320, when the Byzantines of Mystras took it, and they kept it until the Ottoman conquest around 1460. During that later period, wealthy landowners appear to have built mansions around the hill, and this tower, given its position and sturdy construction, must have been among the most imposing. Nothing is known of the man whose name it bears, Matzourogiannis. The structure measures 8.20 by 8.80 metres and shows three building phases, the principal one after 1350. Two storeys survive, perhaps originally three, with the entrance on the first floor beneath a decorated arch. The ground floor, windowless, held a cistern and a storage room; the opening at the base is a later breach.