The tower is located on the top of the Castle of Akrotiri , that is to say in the centre of what was once a fortified settlement. Today, few fragments remain of the Castle, while the tower which dominates the hilltop exists in a much altered state due to the ravages of time and a devestating earthquake which occured in 1956.During the middle ages, Akrotiri constituted just one of the five castles [kastelia] on the island and was named La Ponta, Latin for "the peak". During the Ottoman period the tower was called Goulas from the Turkish "kule" which means "Tower".
After the fall of Constantinople in 1204 to the crusaders, the sovereigns distributed the provinces of the empire. The Cyclades were awarded to the Venetians, and in 1207 Markos Sanudo founded the Duchy of the Archipelago.It is speculated that the tower was erected in the beginning of 13th century by the Barozzis who controlled the island from 1207 to 1335 (with the exception of the period 1261-1296 when the island was recovered by the Byzantine emperor Michail Palaiologo). In 1335, the tower reverted to the sovereignty of the duchy of the Aegean, under the possession of the Duke of Naxos Nikolaos Sanudo who also occupied Santorini.
In 1336 N. Sanudo granted the building to the family Gozzadini, which had originated from Bologna. The fact that Gozzadini hailed from Bologna and not from Venice, which was at war with the Ottoman empire, in addition to the castle's fortifications allowed the family to maintain possession of the castle for a long period, even while the rest of the island fell under the Turks in 1566.
Finally Akrotiri did pass into the hands of the Ottomans in 1617 and remained in their possession until 1822, when it finally passed into the hands of the Greeks.
from: www. la ponta. gr
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