Medieval Castle - Pidima #1068

Description

Antoine Bon, a French academic, claims that the Byzantines constructed the Pidima fortress in 1300. The region was in a zone of conflict between the Principality of Achaia and the Despotate of Mystras. It's probable that its ownership was transferred several times.
Pidima was already Byzantine when the Palaeologists of Mystras took over thirty fortresses and cities in Messinia from the Principality in 1417.

According to the Hopf maps, it is listed as a Venetian fortress in 1463 and is again shown as such in 1467, although it has been demolished.
The natural contours of the hilltop are followed by the construction of the castle. The southwest corner may have been where the primary entrance gate was located. Rough limestone makes up the wall, with a significant amount of brickwork on the north side.

Blind apsidomes, or arched recesses, with a width of around 1.70 m and a depth of up to 0.90 m, are constructed on the inner surface of the eastern side of the wall (picture 3.7). This is a pretty rare feature that we also see in the nearby castle of Androusa and in less evident locations in Mystras and Geraki.