Othello Castle


Othello Castle, also known as Othello's Tower, is a castle in Famagusta, Cyprus. It was built by the Lusignans in the 14th century, and was later modified by the Venetians. The castle was named after a Venetian governor in 1506. Shakespeare's play Othello which is believed to be written in 1603 might have taken its name from this castle.

History

Othello Castle was built in the 14th century by the Lusignans to protect the port against possible enemy attacks. It was also used as the main entrance to Famagusta. It used to be called "impenetrable fortress" due to it being nearly impossible to attack because of very deep ditches surrounding it.
After Cyprus was sold to the Republic of Venice, the castle's square towers were replaced with circular ones to suit more modern artillery. After these modifications, a relief of the Lion of St Mark was engraved above the castle's main entrance. The name of Captain Nicolo Foscari, who directed the alterations to the castle, and the date 1492 are inscribed near the relief. The castle gets its name from Shakespeare's famous play Othello, which is set in a harbour town in Cyprus.
In 1900, the castle's ditch was drained of water to reduce the risk of malaria.
The castle began to be restored in 2014, and it reopened to the public on 3 July 2015.

Layout

The castle contains four circular towers. It contains a refectory and a dormitory, which were constructed during the Lusignan period. The castle's yard contains cannonballs left behind by the Spaniards and Ottomans, relics of its turbulent history.

Contemporary Literature

Currently, the only piece of contemporary prose literature that references and engages with Othello Castle in a first-person account is the creative nonfiction short story 'Green-eyed monster diary' by Dean Kerrison, set in the emerging days of COVID-19, published in TEXT Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, April 2020.