Red Castle #1025

Description

The hill where the current castle stands was first fortified by the Byzantines in 1030. The medieval Castello Rosso was built on these Byzantine foundations by the Lombard baron Ravano dalle Carceri, who was granted the fief of Karystos between 1209 and 1216.

In 1276, the Byzantines briefly regained control of Evia. The knight Liccario, a Frankish adventurer serving Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologos, captured the castle along with most of the island, except for Chalkis.

The Franks reclaimed the castle in 1295 under Bonifacio da Verona. After his death in 1318, his son-in-law, the Catalan Alfonso Fadrigo di Aragon, took control of Karystos and its castle.

The Venetians, who had long desired the location, purchased it from Fadrigo's son in 1359 for 6,000 ducats and ruled for 104 years. However, under Venetian rule, Karystos gradually declined. In 1470, facing pressure from the Turks and losing interest in the area, the Venetians withdrew quietly, allowing the Ottomans to take control.