Pirama is a small village of NW Chios island. It is 4km north of Volissos and 44km from the town of Chios.

At the top of the village dominates a large Genoan tower.

History

The tower is Genoese and was built in 1515, as verified by a building contract recorded in the book by Philip P Argenti (see sources).

During the same period, a similar tower was built in the village of Phyta, which was originally three-storeyed, as was the tower of Pirama (although Pirama’s is slightly smaller).
The two towers were constructed by the same team, headed by a certain Isidoros Politis.

In addition to Fyta and Pirama, this team of technicians also built other towers in the early 16th century – after 1515 – in northern Chios, which, however, have not survived: In Ververato, in Chalkios and in the (now unknown) village of Varnaritis, near Volissos.

In these cases, the contractor’s fee was 3 perperi (Genoese hyperpyra) and 6 carati (1 keratio=1/24 of hyperpyron) for each canna (Italian unit of length measurement that for the Genoese was equivalent to 2.491 meters). The total fee was derived from the measurement of the longest side length of the building. The materials belonged to the employers, but the builders were obliged to maintain it for the first 3 years.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The tower is quite large. It has a rectangular layout with dimensions 7.8✖11.6 m. The area of ​​its base is 92 sq m.

If we judge from the detailed contract for the lost tower in Chalkios, the towers of this group had a ground floor, 1st floor, 2nd floor and a parapet with battlements.
The thickness of the walls was 1.5 m on the ground floor and 1 m on the other floors. Their height was over 13m (Argenti, 1958).

Sources