Fixing and restoration works of the Castle of Chios

They’re moving on systematically the works of restoration and enhancement of its land walls of the medieval Castle of Chios, of the dominant monument, to the north of the port of the island and Chora.

Its foundation dates back to 1328. It has strong bastions, eight of which are still preserved today. In the three towers, there are built-in plaques with the coat of arms of the Justiniani (a castle with three towers and a crowned eagle) commemorating the year of construction or repair of the fortification, during the Genoese times. This wall, which according to many is identified with the rampart of the medieval castle (14th – 15th century), was rebuilt, in height, with the addition of an inclined wall, forming, in this way, an almost uniform sloping surface, which served both in the stability of the building and in its defensive capacity.

The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, stated: “The signs of wear and tear on the Castle of Chios, an imprint of the centuries and also of the significant blow it received with the systematic stoning of it by the inhabitants of the island, after 1912, result in its poor condition conservation that it exhibits today. The strengthening works that have been progressing in recent years aim at the overall restoration and enhancement of the castle’s land walls. As the work on the part of the walls, from Bastion A to Bastion C, has been completed, the second phase of the project is now underway, with interventions from Bastion C to the Western Gate, the Upper Portello. Today, the Ministry of Culture, in addition to the interventions in the Castle of Chora, implements a project program on the island, with a total budget of more than 20,000,000 euros. The expansion and modernization of the Archaeological Museum, the restoration and maintenance of important Byzantine and post-Byzantine monuments, with remarkable examples of monumental painting, in the countryside of Chios, the fixing, maintenance and restoration works of the fortified enclosure and the defensive tower of the building complex of Nea The Monastery of Chios is among our priorities.”

The second phase of the project, which is also implemented by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chios, includes interventions in bastions D and E, as well as in the three post-tower spaces that are included in the area of ​​intervention in a section of the fortification walls from Bastion C to West Gate. This is followed by the fixing and restoration of Bastion V, on the northwest side of the walls. Bastion V, which dates back to the middle of the 18th century, was fixed and repaired in more than one time period.

In the context of research by the Italian archaeological school, plans were drawn up to capture it, in the period 1986-1987. These plans depict an important network of arcades (northern “hallway”, southern “hallway” and central trapezoidal space) developed in Bastion V, inside the lower level, which functioned as an artillery and communicated with the upper levels of the Bastion. The oldest tower enclosed inside Rampart V, has a polygonal engraving, and dates, based on morphological characteristics, to the early 15th century. The extensive collapse in its northern part, at its junction with the Metapyrgio up to the Western Gate, completely changed its original static function and caused the collapse of part of the roof, the vaulted portico. As a consequence, the internal aspect of the rampart’s stonework was exposed to the weather conditions and the uncontrolled infiltration of rain that caused serious damage. The final restoration works of Bastion V include, among other things, the removal of fragmented and cracked stones and their replacement with new ones, the elimination of unwanted vegetation on its entire external surface, the identification and removal of fragile old joints, the application of grouts, where cracks are found.