All about Zakynthos

The tower of Domenegini is located on the beach of Argassi, once a countryside location with groves and agricultural crops, which today has become one of the most popular tourist resorts of Zakynthos. At the time of the Venetian rule, at the end of the 15th century, the area was ruined due to the constant pirate raids. The Domenegini family, who owned the tower-grapewine, settled in Zakynthos shortly after the fall of Chandax in Crete (1669) and was registered in the Libro d'Oro in 1741. The neighbouring church of Agios Theodosios belonged to the same family, as well as the adjacent fountain, which is known as 'Solomos' Fountain', probably because of the poet's frequent visits. According to tradition, the idyllic surroundings of the tower inspired him for the famous quatrain of "Galini" (serenity). As George N. Papanikolaou writes: "The poet, as a painter, gives us the image of the untamed sea, of the sea's serenity, as he faces the horseshoe of the Zakynthian shore from the area of Davia". The history of the tower is inextricably linked to the national liberation struggle of 1821, as meetings of the members of the greek Society of "Filiki Etaireia" were held here and it was from here that Theodoros Kolokotronis left by boat to organise the revolution in the Peloponnese. In order to preserve the secrecy of the place and for the "Filikoi" to act unchallenged, they had cultivated the rumour that the tower was haunted. This is how it came to be known as the 'hell house'.