Hora (Naxos)

Overview

Hora, or Naxos Town, feels different from other Cycladic island capitals. It's bigger and busier, for starters, with the remnants of the fortified Venetian kastro looming above the waterfront buildings. This was the seat of power for Marco Sanudo, the 13th-century Venetian who founded the town and made Naxos the heart of the Duchy of the Aegean. The old town is a tangle of steep footpaths and is divided into two historic Venetian neighbourhoods: Bourgos, where the Greeks lived, and the hilltop Kastro, where the Roman Catholics lived.