Traveler's Guide

East Macedonia & Thrace

Medieval towers of Samothrace

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The towers and the medieval fortifications of Samothrace are among the greatest examples of fortress architecture of the late Byzantine period in Greece. They were built by the Genoese family from Gattilussi, who dominated the island in the 15th century, after the Fourth Crusade, in order to protect it from enemy pirates, Turks and Venetians. Today only three distinctive parts of these imposing fortifications have still been preserved:
1. The "Tower of Fonias", built as a single building at the mouth of the River Fonias, in the northeastern part of the island.
2. The Fortress complex with the trench wall and three towers in Paleopoli above the Early Christian basilica.
3. The fortifications of the Chora, in the west, at the top of a steep hill.


Service Unit: 12nd Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities _x000D_

Phone: +30 25210 224716


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