Vigla of Livadia

The Vigla of Livadia is one of the cylindrical watchtowers that once formed a defensive ring around the coast of Chios, built during the Genoan occupation of the island between 1346 and 1564. This particular example stands at a spot called Livadi, near the port of Mesta, and remains in relatively good condition. The Genoans developed a network of as many as fifty such viglas, of which thirty-five have been located today and twenty-four are listed monuments. Positioned within sight of one another, they relayed warnings of pirate attacks or invasions by smoke signals by day and fires by night, as recorded by travellers such as Jean de Thevenot in 1656 and George Sandys in 1610. A standard tower rose about twelve metres with a mean diameter of seven and a half metres, its cylindrical body set on a sloping, cone-shaped base called a scarpa. Walls were built from local stone and lime mortar with kourasani, and the watcher’s room sat beneath a low dome, reached only by a retractable ladder. The door faced away from the sea and was secured from within, with machicolations above for pouring hot liquids on attackers.