Kleitoria, Kalavryta, Achaea,West Greece
Tower of Kleitor
or Palaiopyrgos of Kleitoria
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photo by Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
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south side-photo by Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
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south side-photo by Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
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east side-photo by Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
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cistern - photo by Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
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photo by Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
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view to Kleitoria- Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
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photo by Sakis Lemonakis, Dec 2019
THE END
| Location: |
| On a conical hill 3 km west of Kleitoria in Kalavryta region, NW Peloponnese |
| Region > Prefecture: |  |
| West Greece Achaea | |
| Municipality > Town: | |
| City of Kalavryta • Kleitoria | |
| Altitude: | |
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Elevation ≈ 605 m (Relative Height≈70 m) |
| Time of Construction | Origin | |
| Unknown | Late-BYZANTINE  |
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| Castle Type | Condition | |
| Tower |
In Ruins
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Remains of a tower on a hill 3km west of the modern village Kleitoria and about 1,5km from Kleitor, an important ancient city of Arcadia.
History
We do not know the history of the tower. Papandreou (1928) and Ballas (1996-97) believe it was built in the late Byzantine period (13-15th century). Antoine Bonn (1989) dismissed it as an Ottoman mansion.
The truth is we do not have enough info to be precise about its chronology. It could have been the tower of an unknown Frankish fief or built by the Byzantines after the 14th century , when they took the region or to have been indeed a building of the Turkish period.
Structure, Fortification & Buildings
The tower is built with semi-processed stones and mortra. It is rectangular in shape measuring 8.5✖6.0 m.
Most part of it has collapsed. The best preserved side is its southern reaching 3m height while the eastern is 2m max height.
The thickness of the wall varies from1.2m to 2m.
At the bottom of the interior there are the remains of a vaulted cistern with two chambers.
Around the tower there are traces of other stone structures. These could have been from ayxiliary buildings or even an outer fortification wall.
| First entry in Kastrologos: | January 2020 |
Sources
- Photographs and info by Sakis Lemonakis and his blog ΑΜΦΙΤΡΕΙΔΗΣ
- Georgia Alexopoulos, Συμβολή στην αρχαιολογία και τοπογραφία της Αζανίας (Βόρειας Αρκαδίας) Επαρχία Καλαβρύτων, Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας. Σχολή Επιστημών του Ανθρώπου. Τμήμα Ιστορίας, Αρχαιολογίας και Κοινωνικής Ανθρωπολογίας, page. 241, Patra 2009 (http://thesis.ekt.gr/thesisBookReader/id/27848#page/221/mode/1up)
- A.I. Ballas, Καλαβρυτηνὰ κάστρα νότιας περιοχής, Peloponnisiaka ΚΒ´, 1996-1997, pag.81-160
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| Access |
|---|
| Approach to the monument: |
| Take the road from Kleitoria to Lefkasio; after 1.5km turn right into a dirt road which after 1350m leads to the foot of the hill. |
| Entrance: |
| Free access |
