Castle built on the edge of a plateau 166 metres high, near the modern village, at a point surveying the busy strait between Kos and the island of Nissyros. In Hospitaller documents it is mentioned as the castle «de Landemachi» or «Lindemachii», while 18th c. travellers called it «Andimesia». The size of the castle and the remnants of numerous buildings show that it was a fortified settlement of some size. The following stages of construction are discernible: under grand master H. de Villeneuve (1319-1346), P. d?Aubusson (1476-1503), F. del Carretto (1513-1521) and Ottoman rule (16th-19th c.) The castle covers an area of 26,250 square metres and the perimeter of the walls is 970 metres long, of which the NW and parts of the south side survive today. A low semicircular bastion dating from the early 16th c. projects from the NW wall; its walls are battered, decorated with a cordone and embrasures for cannon at different levels. The interior contains a circular yard which gives access to the galleries of the lower level batteries, which date from the Ottoman period. The arms of grand master Aubusson survive in the interior of the castle alongside the shield of the Order of St. John, with the date 1494. Still standing inside the castle are the churches of St. Paraskevi and St. Nicholas; the modern courtyard of the latter contains a large cistern with a pointed vault. The castle provided shelter for the inhabitants of the wider area, and occasionally those of Neratzia as well. It is first mentioned in a Hospitaller document of 1358 kept in the Malta Archives. A chronicle of the 14th century masters of the Order is stated that it was built by H. de Villeneuve. In 1383 the Chapter General of the Knights decided that the castle should serve as a prison for Knights accused or convicted of misdemeanours. Later, in documents of 1445, 1449 and1450 it is mentioned as a settlement. The castle is mentioned in a document of 8 July 1457 sent by the master to the Governor of Crete and describing the attack of the Ottoman fleet on Kos in June of that year. In that raid, the Ottomans laid siege to the castle, which at the time was sheltering 25,000 inhabitants, including those of Pyli and Kefalos, which lasted 23 days; the main attacks took place between 23 and 25 June. The Turks dug three great mines trying to open a gap in the defences, but these were successfully countered by the besieged and the enemy abandoned the effort on 26 June without taking the castle. In 1462 18,000 took part in an assault on Antimacheia. In 1493 the castle was severely damaged in an earthquake and was swiftly restored by the Knights.