Buffavento Castle

Buffavento Castle is located in the Kyrenia range, in Northern Cyprus. Its name is Italian and means, “Defier of the Winds”, reflecting that the winds at its location at 950 metres above sea level can reach quite a high velocity. The castle is irregular in shape as it makes use of the mountain itself for its defense.

Buffavento stands between St. Hilarion Castle to the west and Kantara Castle to the east, all of which were built as a defense against Arab raids. As both of the other castles are visible from Buffavento, it was used to pass signals between them. It also controlled an important pass through the mountains. It was used as a prison in the 14th century.

The lowest part of the castle was probably built by the Byzantines in the 11th century. The Lusignans expanded the castle in the 14th century. During the Venetian control of the island, Buffavento fell into disuse as the Venetians saw the coastal castles of Cyprus, such as Kyrenia and Famagusta, as more important.