31/10/2023
We are not just living on a seaside place, the castle, the smelting furnace, are still witnessing the sun and touched by the sea. History is breathing on us!
"The Palaiokastro is a triangular Venetian fortress built on a high cliff above the sea, 8 kilometers west of Heraklion, on the western side of the bay. The national road from Heraklion to Chania runs next to it.
Today, only a portion of the fortress walls and buildings inside are preserved.
It is believed that in antiquity, this location was either the acropolis of the ancient city of Kytaion or the city of Elaia.
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History
In Palaiokastro, there was an ancient fortification on which a Genoese fortress was built in the early 13th century. The current form of the fortress is owed to the Venetians, who rebuilt it at the end of the 16th century. This is why it is characterized as "Venetian."
Genoese and Venetians
After the fall of Byzantium in 1204, Crete was ceded to Venice for a symbolic sum of 1000 silver marks. The Venetians did not rush to Crete, prioritizing other acquisitions they considered more contested, such as Methoni, Koroni, and Corfu.
Taking advantage of this laxity, the Genoese adventurer Enrico Pescatore (with the hereditary title of Admiral, later Count of Malta and unofficially a pirate) seized Crete in 1206 with a small fleet of 5 sailboats and 24 galleys. The Genoese had previously managed to infiltrate key points as traders and also had the support of the Cretans.
Pescatore, anticipating the reaction of the Venetians, immediately organized the island's defense and, within a few months, built many castles (exaggeratedly claimed to be 14) and repaired many others. One of these newly constructed castles was Palaiokastro Maleviziou, which seems to have served as Pescatore's headquarters.
In 1207, the Venetians made their first attempt to regain the island. In that failed expedition, the son of the Doge of Venice, Renieri Dandolo, was captured and died of voluntary starvation within Palaiokastro. Venice sent its fleet again in 1209. This time, they managed to seize control of the entire island by 1211. The official recognition of Crete as part of Venice occurred in May 1217 with an agreement with the Republic of Genoa.
In that war, the last point of Genoese resistance was Palaiokastro Maleviziou, which Pescatore surrendered, abandoning Crete. According to one version, Pescatore was handsomely paid by the Venetians to leave.
It's noteworthy that his real name is unknown. In Genoese archives, he appears as Henricus, comes de Malta. The name Pescatore, which means "fisherman," was a nickname given to him pejoratively by the Venetians, to whom his pirate reputation is largely attributed. Pescatore was confined to Malta, where he engaged in activities that could indeed be described as piratical. He later made another unsuccessful attempt to regain Crete. He subsequently participated in the 5th Crusade as the leader of a fleet with 40 ships.
Venetian Rule
During the first period of Venetian rule, the castle lost its significance and was neglected, as the Most Serene Republic of Venice was then a maritime power, and no naval force posed a serious threat to the shores of its dominion. However, when this power began to weaken and was threatened by the presence of the Ottomans, the castle regained its purpose.
Between 1573 and 1595, many castles were reconstructed throughout Crete, including Palaiokastro.
The Venetians realized that the western bastion of Chandax (Saint Andrew) could not effectively prevent the pe*******on of ships into the Fraskia Bay. There was a need for a strong position on the rocky western shores of the bay to deter the landing of enemy vessels. It was then decided not only to restore Palaiokastro but rather to build a new, more powerful fortress following the new fortification techniques.
The two castles of the bay had the ability to control the entire area, as the cannons of Palaiokastro reached Almyros and intersected with the volleys from the bastion of Saint Andrew (within the walls of Heraklion).
The project was carried out under the supervision of Latino Orsini, who had promoted many fortification improvements in the walls of Chandax and other fortresses (Gramvousa, etc.). Orsini was from Rome and the most renowned condottiere (leader of mercenary armies) and fortification engineer of the 16th century. He served in Crete as Governor from 1573 to 1583. The title of Governor implies that he was something like a prime minister, reporting to the Duke of Crete, who at that time was Marco di Lauro Querini.
The fortress held out until the final years of the Chandax siege, which eventually fell in 1669. The Ottomans rushed to capture it, knowing its vital role in the region's defense when they learned that the Venetian fleet was in Chania with an apparent mission to assist in lifting the Chandax siege. Thus, before the enemy fleet arrived, the Turks surrounded Palaiokastro by land and sea. Faced with the overwhelming superiority of the attackers, the fortress quickly surrendered. At that point, the Turks destroyed it to prevent its future use by the enemy.
The surrender of Palaiokastro boosted the morale of the Ottomans who had unsuccessfully besieged Chandax for over 20 years and facilitated their final assault to capture the city.
