Facing the Maliakos and Euboean gulf, the sentinel of Mendenitsa, known in the Middle Ages as Vodonitsa, controlled the strategically important strait of Thermopylae, connecting Thessaly to Southern Greece, in the early years of the Frankish occupation. Built in 1204 by the Lombardian Knight and first Marquess of Bodonitsa, Guido Pallavicini, it remains an undisputed witness of one of the longest-occupied Frankish lands of Greece. The castle was conquered by Ottomans but finally became a greek territory after the captain G. Diovouniotis’ conquest during the Greek War of Independence.