Description of the attraction
About 10 km northeast of the administrative center of the Greek island of Paros, the city of Parikia, on the shores of a cozy natural bay, is the port of Naoussa, the second largest settlement on the island and a popular tourist center of Paros with a well-developed infrastructure. It is a small town with pretty white houses and blue shutters built in the traditional Cycladic architectural style, labyrinths of cobbled streets, a picturesque promenade and an unforgettable atmosphere of cordiality and hospitality of the locals.
One of the main and most famous sights of Naoussa is the Venetian fortress located in the area of the old port, or rather its ruins. It was built in the 15th century, during the rule of the Venetians on the island, to protect the approaches to the city from the sea, as well as the part of the port where merchant ships moored. The fortress was used for its intended purpose and when Paros was under the control of the Russians and Naoussa was the naval base of the Russian fleet of the First Archipelago Expedition, led by Count Alexei Orlov, and also after the Russians were forced to withdraw their fleet from the islands in accordance with the agreement signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire by the treaty of the Kucuk-Kainardzhiyskiy peace, and Paros was under the control of the Turks.
To this day, from the once powerful fortification, only one dilapidated and partially flooded watchtower and a fragment of the fortress wall have survived, where you can still see this small piece of Naoussa's history.
