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Coordinates: 39.124560, 23.727680

Castle of Skopelos

In the old days, when pirates and aspiring conquerors sailed the Aegean, the island's inhabitants sought safe havens in fortified acropolises and castles. Skopelos was no exception.

In antiquity, its three cities — Panormos, Selinus, and Peparethus — were walled. Although two of the three were likely abandoned from the early Middle Ages, Peparethus survived in the same location, only renamed Skopelos. Its walls proved useful to the Byzantine inhabitants, serving as a base for their own fortifications. The Byzantine wall, parts of which are preserved today in the northern and highest parts of the city of Skopelos and to the east, with many later Venetian additions, was constructed of dry stone walls and wood.

In the early 13th century, the island passed into Venetian hands. In 1260, a Venetian fortification in Skopelos is mentioned in an official list of fortresses. At the end of the same century, due to the continued threat from pirates, it was decided to repair the old Byzantine castle. The Venetian castle of Saints was located at the northern edge of the town's port, in a strategically significant position because it ensured immediate access to the mountains from which defenders could continue fighting in case of need. The Venetian wall, built from rubblework and founded on ancient ruins and the Byzantine wall, had two enclosures and square towers that protected the gate. On the eastern side, its embrasures are still preserved. A supplementary wall ran vertically from the castle to the sea to protect the center of the settlement.

Thanks to its excellent location and strong fortifications, Skopelos proved impregnable in Byzantine and Venetian times. Only in 1276, when the Byzantines, led by the Byzantine Fleet's Admiral Licario, besieged the Venetians, did it surrender due to lack of water.

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