Also known as the Castle of Roumeli, the Venetian Castle of Antirrio has been a fortress of great strategic importance. Built in 1500 at the narrowest point connecting the Peloponnese and Central Greece, this coastal fortress was tasked with controlling navigation in this sea passage – especially by overseeing the entry and exit to and from the Gulf of Corinth – and was a bone of contention between the Ottomans and Venetians.
The monument with its hexagonal floor plan and polygonal bastions in its corners was surrounded at the time of its omnipotence on three sides by the sea, and in its northern part by a wet moat. Having faced destruction as well as reconstructions in its long historical path, the castle remains well-preserved, while it causes a great visual contrast between modern and ancient architecture, as it is now in the shadow of the majestic Rio-Antirio bridge.
Its walls, 4m wide, with their 8m ramparts, host within them cultural events, especially in the summer, and offer a wonderful view of the Rio-Antirio bridge, the city of Patras and the endless blue.
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