Castles in Naxos

The Venetian Castle
Going up to the Castel of Chora, built by Marcos Sanudos in 1207, and wondering around the stone pave alleys of the medieval settlement you will fell like travelling in past times, a unique experience, Choose one of the two entrances of the Castle: Trani Porta in the north side, or Paraporti, facing west, in order to begin your tour. Every road whether ring or radiate, leads to the hill. Walk in the steep alleys, marvel at the Venetian mansion houses with the coats of arms- a typical ‘'union'' of insular architecture and western elements, discover the neiborhoods that hide stories and legents, visit churches, stare out over the monuments of Portara and fell some of the magic of that time that is preserved ‘'intact'' within the Castle. The square of the Cathilic Cathedral is a refefrence point, near which you can find the Ursulines school, the Jesuits monastery nad the mantion of the past Trade schood, where Nikos Kazantzakis studied. Today the school is housed in the archielogical museum of Naxos. Nearby you will see the Capella Casacca (Church of immaculate conception), which was a chapel of Sanudo as well as the Castle of Crispi, the only one preserve out of the twelve Castle that were build next to the Palace of Sanudo. Stop at the old mention house next to Trani Porta, Where the Venetian Museum is housed along with exhibition and music nights. When going down to Chora in the outskirts of The Castle, you will discover the old market with an arrow whitewashed alleys, the picturesque shops in the traditional small tavernas.

The Tower of Cheimarros
The tower of Cheimarros is a point of reference for Naxos, equivalent to the ‘'Portara'' (gate) of the antique Apollo temple on the islet Palatia. It is a monument with a symbolic meaning and an impressive presence which has passed in the legend.
The circular tower constitutes an exceptional sample of a well preserved defensive structure of the 4th century and predominates a secluded and today uninhabited landscape on the lowest hills of the Mount Zas, in the southern part of Naxos. The existing building stands to the impressive height of amount 15 m and has a double wall. The exterior wall is built by big local marble plinths., while the interiors built by stones of different size with connectors in between. The wall are connected at regular intervals by side- arc bricks, which stand out unrefined, exceeding the interior face. The gap between the two faces is filled up with a mixture of clay and boulder. The fine matching fine of the exterior stones without binder as well as the whole construction of the monument bear evidence to the high quality of the antique stone art.
The gate is located in the southern part of tower and there is only one window at a height of 10 m from the ground that means in the second floor. The narrow loopholes feature the defensive character of the monument.
In the interior of the tower, one can distinguish the ground floor and three further floors connected by a marble staircase which built in the wall. The top of the tower does not exist today- it is estimated that the original height of the tower was 18 m- while it is not proved yet, whether the roof was flat or conic. The tower is fenced with a square wall, which's side measures 35m and its height 2 m.
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