Home

Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
What's New!

Detailed Sitemap

All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page added in December 2006.

Map of Anti Paris Antiparis (Andiparos)

Key dates:
1207 Marco Sanudo a Venetian adventurer conquered Nasso and the nearby islands including Antiparis
1566 The last Duke of Nasso, Jacopo IV Crispo was cashiered by the Sultan
1645-69 During the War of Candia the Venetians often controlled the Cycladic islands including Paris and Antiparis

Antiparis (opposed to Paris) is located opposite the southern part of Paris: there is only a very narrow passage between the two islands.

Searching for Kastro
Searching for Kastro

Many tourists try to escape the crowded beaches of Paris by taking the ferry which links the two islands: when they land on Antiparis they hardly notice the difference because Kastro the main town of Antiparis looks as crowded and cosmopolitan as those in Paris. Kastro means castle but apparently there is no castle in sight although a cafč at the end of the main street is named in a mixture of Spanish and Italian El (Span.) Castello (Ital.).
An inscription in the pavement (you can see it in the image used as background for this page) is another indication of the existence of the castle together with a long series of adjacent buildings.

Main church
Entrance to the fortified town and the main church

After a relatively long walk one reaches a low passage which gives access to a square where a large 1645 church is located. This part of the castle is called Xopyrgo (outside the tower) and is an addition to the original fortified village (because the castle turns out to be a fortified village similar to that of Argentiera).

Gate and structure of the Kastro
Gate and structure of the castle

The older part of the castle was built in the XVth century when Antiparos was ruled by Giovanni Loredan and his wife Maria Sommaripa: they both belonged to important Venetian families. They most likely resettled their farmers and servants living on the island in one location which offered some protection, if not from the attack of a proper army, at least from the raids of pirates. This type of countryside village was typical of central and northern Italy where it was called cascina: S. Maria di Galeria near Rome was built following a similar pattern.

Inside the Kastro: ruins of the keep
Inside the castle: ruins of the keep

A keep at the centre of the village was most likely the residence of the lords of Antiparos: it was damaged by being used as a base for building a water tank.

Details of the houses
Details of the houses

All the houses were built on three levels according to a similar pattern: the lower level was most likely used for stables and sheltering farming equipment.

Lintel of the church and symbol of Venice
Lintel of the main church and a relief showing the winged lion, symbol of Venice

Introductory page on the Venetian Fortresses

Pages of this section:
On the Ionian Islands:     Corfų (Kerkyra)     Paxo (Paxi)     Santa Maura (Lefkadas)     Cefalonia (Kephallonia)     Asso (Assos)     Itaca (Ithaki)     Zante (Zachintos)     Cerigo (Kythera)
On the mainland: Butrinto (Butrint)     Parga     Preveza and Azio (Aktion)     Vonizza (Vonitsa)     Lepanto (Nafpaktos)     Atene (Athens)
On Morea:     Castel di Morea (Rio), Castel di Rumelia (Antirio) and Patrasso (Patra)     Castel Tornese (Hlemoutsi) and Glarenza     Navarino (Pilo) and Calamata     Modon (Methoni)     Corone (Koroni)     Braccio di Maina, Zarnata, Passavā and Chielefā     Mistrā     Corinto (Korinthos)     Argo (Argos)     Napoli di Romania (Nafplio)     Malvasia (Monemvassia)
On the Aegean Sea:     Negroponte (Chalki)     Castelrosso (Karistos)     Oreo     Lemno (Limnos)     Schiatto (Skiathos)     Scopello (Skopelos)     Alonisso     Schiro (Skyros)     Andro (Andros)     Tino (Tinos)     Micono (Mykonos)     Siro (Syros)     Egina (Aegina)     Spezzia (Spetse)     Paris (Paros)     Antiparis (Andiparos)     Nasso (Naxos)     Serifo (Serifos)     Sifno (Syphnos)     Milo (Milos)     Argentiera (Kimolos)     Santorino (Thira)     Folegandro (Folegandros)     Stampalia (Astipalea)     Candia (Kriti)

You may refresh your knowledge of the history of Venice in the Levant by reading an abstract from the History of Venice by Thomas Salmon, published in 1754. The Italian text is accompanied by an English summary.

Clickable Map of the Ionian and Aegean Seas with links to the Venetian fortresses and to other locations (opens in a separate window)