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Castles

The Castle of Margariti

It is located in the south end, on a rocky hill and stands out in the whole area. The south side has an altitude of 10 meters and it is still intact.

The northern side has collapsed. On the northwest side, where the vaulted gate of the castle was, there are some remains left.

As far as the two round towers of the castle are concerned, the northern one has totally collapsed and the southern is intact and remains tall and imposing.

Inside the castle there were vaulted underground refuges, warehouses, two water reservoirs and sewers as well.

The castle of Parga

Before the completion of the rebuilding of the castle with the help of the Venetians, it was once again demolished by the Turks. In 1792 the Venetians rebuilt for the third and last time a perfect and mighty fortress, which remained impregnable until 1819, despite the attacks of Ali Pasha of Ioannina mainly, who had been besieging them from the mountainous castle of Agia Anthousa.

Venetians created a flawless defense plan which in combination with the natural fortification rendered the castle an unassailable fortress. Outside the castle there were eight towers at different positions, which completed the defense. Within the narrow area of the Citadel 400 houses were cramped so as not to cover a wide area of extent and were thus protected from the attacks by sea. In this castle the besieged, but overwhelmed with the spirit of freedom, people of Parga and Souli gave heroic battles and preserved their freedom for many centuries.

The faucet called “Kremasma” was used to supply the water reservoirs of the castle as well as the houses. For the supply of the castle the two following bays were used: Valtos Bay and Pogonias Bay.

When Parga was sold to the Turks, Ali reinforced it even more and installed his harem and the vapor-bath at its highest point, radically reforming in this way the whole castle. In this castle the besieged, but overwhelmed with the spirit of freedom, people of Parga and Souli carried out heroic battles and preserved their freedom for many centuries.

On the vaulted gate of the entrance, on the wall one can discern the winged lion of San Marco, the name “ANTONIO BERVASS 1764”, emblems of Ali Pasha, double-headed eagles and relevant inscriptions. The vaulted corridors, the gun emplacement rooms, the equipment colonnades, the mighty ramparts with the machine gun lockers, the gun lockers, the secret passage to the sea, the barracks, the prisons, the warehouses and the two block-houses at the last line of defense, all indicate a flawless defense plan which in combination with the natural fortification rendered it an impregnable fortress.

Nowadays, the castle is lighted and is being visited by crowds of visitors.


Source: Municipality of Parga