Pontikokastro

Pontikokastro stands above the Ionian shore at the northern end of Ichthys Bay, on the site of the ancient acropolis of Pheia. The Byzantine fortress became known to the Franks as Beauvoir after their conquest of the Morea. Together with Glarentza, it served as an important centre from which the princes of Achaea governed Elis. Ferdinand of Majorca's forces held Beauvoir during his attempt to seize the principality in 1315–16. Its importance waned thereafter, though it changed hands again: the Navarrese Company took it in 1391, and Constantine Palaiologos in 1427. Ottoman forces burned the castle in 1470. Its elongated walls retain Byzantine masonry alongside traces of Frankish work.