Due to the constant danger of pirate raids, the architecture of several islands of the Cyclades became defensive. The settlements were built on natural or fortified positions around a castle, or the entire village squeezed into a narrow and fortified space. The Venetians and the Genoese played a key role in all this because of their systematic effort to fortify their conquered lands in the second half of the 15th and early 16th centuries.
In Antiparos, however, the settlement represents a very specific town planning. The castle of Antiparos (built by lord Lorentano) is the settlement itself. It is a single, independent, residential unit. The whole complex was arranged around a square courtyard, in the center of which there was a central tower. Only the base of the tower remains till nowadays. The perimeter was comprised of 24 two-storey houses with an outer wall (3 meters thick), without balconies or large windows on the façade. Access to houses was possible only through the inner courtyard, and there was only one exit to the south, which was closed by a big gothic gate which still exists till nowadays.
