Rentína

Rentina's fortified settlement stood on a hill at the western entrance to the gorge through which the Richios River carries Lake Volvi's waters to the Strymonic Gulf. The Via Egnatia passed below its walls, following a route between Thessaloniki and eastern Macedonia. In Byzantine times Rentina formed part of a network of castles and towers protecting the road and the approaches to Thessaloniki.

During the civil war of 1341–1347, John VI Kantakouzenos took the castle and stationed a garrison there before advancing toward Thessaloniki. The settlement prospered under the Palaiologoi, but declined after the Ottoman conquest of the region in the late 14th century. Tax registers nevertheless record more than a hundred Christian households at Rentina in 1519 and 1527. The old settlement was eventually abandoned, while guards continued to watch the pass and its travelers.