A fortification in Famagusta, built by the Lusignans in the 14th century and later modified by the Venetians. The castle consists of four round towers. In the castle courtyard, cannonballs left by the Spanish and Ottomans are kept — relics of its turbulent history. Originally, it was called the Harbor Citadel and was built in the 14th century by the Lusignans, who ruled the Kingdom of Cyprus. Before the tower was built, fortifications erected by the Prince of Tyre at the end of the 11th century existed on this site. 

After Cyprus was handed over to the Venetian Republic, they completely rebuilt the citadel and turned it into a military fortress. By removing the second floor and aligning the building’s level with the surrounding walls, they made it invisible from outside the city. The Venetians significantly strengthened the city’s defenses by incorporating the citadel into the main city walls, and the tower provided protection for the port against possible enemy attacks.

While the thick walls were preserved or reinforced, the rectangular towers of the medieval fortress were replaced with round ones to better suit modern artillery such as cannons and gunpowder — during an attack, the corners of a non-cylindrical tower could be easily knocked off by shots. Essentially, the Venetians captured the tower and turned it into a fort, which in turn housed soldiers.

After these changes, in 1492, a marble figure of the winged Lion of Saint Mark, the patron of Venice, was carved above the main entrance to the castle. The lion’s front paws on land symbolize Venice’s terrestrial power, and the rear paws in the sea represent its maritime empire. The inscription also includes the name of the Venetian captain Nicolao Foscareno, who oversaw the castle’s reconstruction. The citadel was then renamed in honor of Giovanni San-Michele, the Venetian engineer responsible for rebuilding much of the city. 

It is also known that in 1566 the tower was used as a prison.

The castle got its name from Shakespeare’s famous play "Othello," the action of which, according to one version, takes place in a port city in Cyprus. However, there is practically no direct evidence of this. Sometimes the name Othello (or Desdemona) is mentioned not as the name of the fortress but as one of its towers. This also has its explanation. Therefore, the association with the content of Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name is natural. And this is not a fanciful imagination. Too many coincidences lie on the surface, and historians and literary critics agree that it was here long ago that the tragedy, skillfully passed down to descendants in the literary work by the famous English playwright, took place.

Firstly, Shakespeare himself noted that the tragedy’s action takes place in Cyprus. Secondly, only the Famagusta castle was the sole residence of Venetian governors. Thirdly, the tragedy’s plot has many coincidences with numerous life events of the governor of Cyprus at that time. And fourthly, the play’s plot is most likely based on the novella by Cinzio Giraldi "The Venetian Moor" (Un Capitano Moro) from the collection "Ecatommithi," published in 1565 in the style of Boccaccio’s "Decameron." During Shakespeare’s lifetime, no translations of Cinzio’s work into English were published, and the text of "Othello" contains traces of the Italian original rather than the 1584 French translation by Gabriel Chappuys. Cinzio’s story may have been based on real events that occurred in Venice in 1508. Possibly, the prototype of Cinzio’s character was an Italian named Maurizio Othello. He commanded Venetian troops in Cyprus from 1505 to 1508 and lost his wife there under highly suspicious circumstances. The similarity of the plots about a stolen item of the wife as proof of her infidelity links the work with the earlier "Tale of the Three Apples" from the "One Thousand and One Nights" cycle. The only character with a personal name in Cinzio’s story is Desdemona; the other characters are named "Moor," "Squadron Commander," "Ensign," and "Ensign’s Wife" (corresponding to Othello, Cassio, Iago, and Emilia). Cinzio put the moral of the story in Desdemona’s mouth: European women are unwise to marry passionate men from other countries. Cinzio’s story was referred to as a "slightly racist warning" about the dangers of mixed marriages.

Although Shakespeare fairly accurately borrows the plot from Cinzio when writing "Othello," he deviates from the original in some details. Cinzio’s story lacks characters such as Brabantio, Roderigo, and some others, and Emilia does not participate in the handkerchief story. Unlike "Othello," in Cinzio’s version the Ensign (Iago) wishes to seduce Desdemona but, after her refusal, decides to take revenge on her. The most notable departure by Shakespeare from Cinzio’s original is the murder of Desdemona itself. In Shakespeare, Othello first strangles Desdemona but finishes the act in an unnamed way in the English original with the words "So! So!" Based on the context and Desdemona’s subsequent lines, Boris Pasternak’s Russian translation reasonably clarifies that Othello stabs her with a dagger. In Cinzio’s version, the Moor orders the Ensign to beat his wife to death with a stocking filled with sand. Cinzio describes each cruel blow, and when the lady dies, the Ensign and the Moor place her lifeless body on the marital bed and, breaking her skull, drop a cracked canopy on her, passing off the falling beams as the cause of her death. Both murderers avoid punishment in Cinzio’s story. The Moor begins to deeply mourn Desdemona, and the Ensign’s company becomes a disgusting reminder of what was done. He fires him and avoids any contact with him. For this attitude, the Ensign seeks revenge on the Moor and reports him to the Squadron Commander as involved in Desdemona’s death. The Ensign and the Squadron Commander sail from Cyprus to Venice, where they accuse the Moor before the Venetian authorities, resulting in his arrest, transport to Venice, and torture. He refuses to admit guilt and is sentenced to exile. Desdemona’s relatives eventually find and kill him. Meanwhile, the Ensign avoids punishment for Desdemona’s murder but, living a criminal life in Venice, is eventually caught by the authorities for another reason and dies under torture. The Ensign’s wife in Cinzio’s story (Emilia in Shakespeare) outlives her husband and tells everyone what happened.

Restoration of the castle began in 2014, and on July 3, 2015, it reopened to visitors.

Sources:

https://cyprus-faq.com/ru/north/mesta/othello_castle_north_cyprus/

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%BE

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C_%D0%B2_%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5