Built in 1260 by the Venetian Duke of Naxos Marco Sanudo, the Frankish Castle is listed as one of the sights in the old town of Parikia. However if you’re expecting to see towering turrets and flying buttresses, you’ll be sorely disappointed. There is almost nothing left of the castle. What you see here are part of a rounded tower and the remains of some of the walls as you walk past (it’s thought that most of the walls slid into the sea after a landslide in the 18th century). You will need a big imagination to get any sense of a castle at all. The most interesting think about it, is that it was made of an assortment of columns and blocks salvaged or taken from other ancient buildings. Columns were laid on their side to help build the walls. As a result, the walls are a strange patterning of small square stones, long rectangular blocks and the rounded ends of columns, which look weirdly like sets of wheels. You can’t go inside so it’s just a quick walk-past. We passed it on our way up to the Church of Agios Konstantinos/Temple of Athena. It’s only 3 - 5 minutes walk from the port, it was not out of our way and the Kastro area lanes are very pretty to wander through.

A castle built with marble remrants from other sites. Truly impressive to see the marble pillars placed horizontically to establish town's fortification.