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Fragokastelo - Kato Rodakino

Fragkokastello

Fragkokastello lies on the south coast of western Crete, 13 km east of Hora Sfakion and west of Plakias. The construction of the castle, called "Agios Nikitas castle" by the Venetians and "Fragkokastello/Castelfranco/Franco Castello" by the locals, began in 1371. A big part of it was rebuilt in the 19^th century AD by Moustafa Nailis Pashas. It stopped being used after the liberation of Crete. Its history revives every year through the legend of the ghosts that haunt it, the famous Drosoulites. Nowadays, the castle is a pole of attraction both for local people and for visitors.

The castle was built based on the principles of fortification architecture, before the invention of gunpowder and after the prevalence of the "parapet system". It is a rectangular building with vertical walls and four-sided towers at the four corners, of which the south-western is much bigger than the rest. The towers and walls end up to serried embrasures. The main entrance used to be on the south side. But its present form is a 19^th century reconstruction. Above this opening, there were 4 built-in escutcheons of eminent Venetian families. Two of those are saved, the one of Querini family and the one of Dolfin family. Above the escutcheons, the lion of Agios Markos is found. One more entrance opens in the east.

The three small towers are saved through several phases of reconstructions, mainly on the floors. From remaining parts it is obvious that the ground floor was arched and the upper part was rebuilt many times with middle floors and a room made of earth on the upper floor. To the contrary, the biggest tower has been saved with minor retouches. This tower was an important part of the castle defence, because it had room for more warriors and better visibility.

Ground floor dwellings in the interior courtyard have been rebuilt relatively recently on the remains of the walls built in the last building phase. These are rectangular rooms that were intended to host warriors, as well as for other uses (storage rooms, kitchens etc). They must have had the same form during the Venetian years too, as it appears in the maps of this period. The church of Agios Markos appears in the fort's precinct in these maps, too. However, G. Gerola pointed out that the church's ruins were outside the castle on its southern side. These are the foundations of the walls of a small building that have traces of wall paintings.

Source: Prefecture of Rethymno

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