The famous Portara, trademark of Naxos, is located right next to the port, on a rocky islet called Palatia and is bound to the mainland by a paved path. The name was given by the locals. It is the monumental doorway of the temple of Apollo that collapsed before being completed (probably during construction) and was never built again. The temple was an ambitious attempt started by the tyrant of Naxos Lygdamis in 530-524 B.C. You can see the traces of its ruins, the broken scattered marbles and the foundations of the perimeter colonnade. Around the 6th century, a Christian basilica was built here.
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All the way from the palace, where Portara was located, to Grotta beach was once covered by the prehistoric Naxos town, as large part of which is sunk in front of the rocky shore.
