Castle of Agia Paraskevi, Aidipsοs

On the road leading to the Holy Monastery of St. George, there are the ruins of two important historical monuments of Northern Evia, the Venetian Tower of Edipsos (7.30 x 6.50 meters) and the Church of Agia Paraskevi (located 150 meters southwest of the new temple and about 50 meters west of the Tower). The story of the two monuments begins a few decades after the conquest of Evia by the Venetians in 1205 and Constantinople by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Venetian domination of Evia lasted from 1205 until 1470 and during that time throughout the island new ones were built or old fortifications formed, installations were set up in high places (through which distant light and smoke were transmitted to distant areas at night). Today, several such Venetian monuments are preserved throughout Evia. Some of them are in relatively good condition, while others are ruined or completely destroyed. The Tower of Edipsos is a Venetian fortification, created alongside a small Catholic church (Agia Paraskevi). According to scholars, the Tower and the temple were built for the needs of the Venetian Lady of Edipsos and the Lichades (from 1383 to 1419), Baroness Petronella Tokyo, who apparently used the Tower as a refuge and a chapel for her own religious needs, as well as her guard. Baroness Petronella Tokko has decided to leave the area because of dangerous raids by pirates in the area. At least this is evident from the recorded testimonies of researchers of that time. The destruction of the Tower is unknown from where it began, and it has also not been fully clarified if the cathedral of Agia Paraskevi functioned for some time as an Orthodox prior to the Turkish occupation. According to one version, the older Latin chapel was repaired and functioned as an Orthodox church until it was destroyed in 1823. There is even a tradition that wants the church to exist before the Venetian occupation and belong to the Thermon Monastery (destroyed in the 15th century). In this case we suppose that the church of Agia Paraskevi was built as Orthodox, later converted to Catholic and again became Orthodox until its destruction in 1823. The period during which the church functioned as a Catholic gave the area the surname "Fog" which is still used by the inhabitants of Edipsos.