Front view of Angelokastro approaching from the nearby village of Krini. Archangel Michael's church at the Acropolis can be seen at the top left of the castle. The Ionian sea can be seen in the background. Remnants of the battlements can be seen on the right (northeast) side of the castle. At the lower left side of the castle some of the restoration scaffolding can be discerned. The circular protective tower can be seen in front of the main gate Located at the top of the highest peak of the Corfu shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa (Greek: Παλαιοκαστρίτσα meaning Old Castle place) and built on particularly steep and rocky terrain, Angelokastro (Greek: Αγγελόκαστρο literally: Angelos' castle is one of the most important Byzantine castles of Greece and certainly of Corfu. Angelos, in modern or medieval Greek, is a male proper name but it also translates as Angel. Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Sta. ...
The Ionian Sea. ...
This article is about the Greek island Kerkyra known in English as Corfu. ...
Palaiokastritsa (ΠαλαιοκαστÏίτσα) is a municipality in the Corfu Prefecture, Greece. ...
Caernarfon Castle, Wales. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...
The Annunciation - the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575) An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. ...
The origin of its name is not completely clear, with some historians mentioning that in 1214 Michael I Komnenos Doukas Despot of Epirus, sometimes called Michael Angelos, annexed Corfu to Epirus and following his death, Michael II Komnenos Doukas, often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, further fortified the area and named it after himself and his father: Angelokastro.[1] The Despots were related to the Komnenoi dynasty of Byzantine emperors. Today foreign language tourist signs in the area refer to it, wrongly, as St. Angelo's castle. Michael I Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Μιχαήλ Α΄ Κομνηνός ΔοÏκας, MikhaÄ“l I KomnÄ“nos Doukas), often inaccurately called Michael Angelos (a name he never used), was the founder and first ruler of the principality of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215. ...
Despotism is government by a singular authority, either a single person or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute power. ...
Epirus (Greek ΉπειÏος, Ãpeiros; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is a province or periphery in northwestern Greece, bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the province of Sterea Ellada (Central Greece) to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and...
Michael II Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Μιχαήλ Β΄ Κομνηνός ΔοÏκας, MikhaÄ“l II KomnÄ“nos Doukas), often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was the ruler of Epirus from 1230 until his death in 1266/68. ...
Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus The Comnenus or Komnenos family was an important dynasty in the history of the Byzantine Empire. ...
This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ...
Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Byzantine Corfu. It forms an Acropolis that surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and therefore presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.[2] Acropolis of Athens from the south-west with the Propylaea and the Temple of Nike (left centre) and the theatre of Herodes Atticus (below left) Acropolis (Gr. ...
A satellite image of the Adriatic Sea. ...
It played a pivotal role during the Great Siege of Corfu in 1571 when the Turkish attack on the northwestern flank of Corfu was successfully repulsed by the defenders of the castle.[1] This article is about the Greek island Kerkyra known in English as Corfu. ...
Origins and strategic significance
Situated at an impregnable and strategic position Angelokastro became important to the island's fortunes for many centuries. In peace time it was also a centre of commerce and development. During excavations in 1997 by the Society of Byzantine Antiquities of Corfu, two Early Christian slabs were unearthed at the top of the acropolis, indicating that the site was occupied by the early Byzantine period (between 5th-7th cent. A.D.).[2] The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. ...
At the edge of the Empire It can be reasonably assumed that since Byzantium lost its dominion over southern Italy in 1071 A.D. the Komnenoi must have paid a lot of attention to the castle since Corfu by default became the frontier to the west of the Byzantine Empire between the 11th and 12th centuries, serving to separate and defend Byzantium from its dangerous foes to the west.[2] Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ...
At the same time the acritic and windswept fortifications helped safeguard Corfu from the great menace of that era, i.e. the Normans of Sicily whose constant incursions had turned the island into a theatre of military conflict.[2] The term acrites (frontiersman) is the transliteration of the Greek word ακÏίτης, deriving from άκÏα meaning edges - frontiers, being the Greek rendition of Latin limitaneus. ...
Norman conquests in red. ...
Sicily (Sicilia in Italian, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. ...
Architectural highlights Northern side of Angelokastro. The precipitous nature of the terrain is apparent The castle's west, northwest and south sides are protected by the terrain that slopes precipitously.
Church of the Acropolis The acropolis is located at the highest point with a church at the southern side. The church is dedicated to Archangel Michael and it is built at the site of an Early Christian three-aisled church.[2] Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Sta. ...
The circular tower The main gate points to the north and is protected by a circular tower. The ruins opposite the main gate formed the garrison's quarters. There were three underground cisterns that supplied water to the castle occupants.[2] // Getting water out of a cistern A cistern (Middle English cisterne, from Latin cisterna, from cista, box, from Greek kistê, basket) is a receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. ...
Battlements survive only on the northeastern side of the castle. A small gate also existed at the southern side.[2]
Anthropomorphic graves There is a cemetery on the western side with graves carved out of the rock in the shape of the human body as in a sarcophagus. The origin of the anthropomorphic graves has not yet been determined.[2] Stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Merenptah Detail of a stone sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archeological Museum showing a hunting scene Anthropoid sarcophagus discovered at Cádiz A sarcophagus is a stone container for a coffin or body. ...
Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification or prosopopeia, is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and others. ...
Chapel in the rock At the east side there exists a tiny chapel, dedicated to St. Kyriaki, that also served as a hermitage. The chapel was created by digging into the rock formation and as such it is a cave-like structure. There are paintings inside the chapel that date back to the 18th century.[2] Onuphrius lived as a hermit in the desert of Upper Egypt in the late 4th century A hermit (from the Greek erēmos, signifying desert, uninhabited, hence desert-dweller) is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion and/or isolation from society. ...
History
Angevins After the Crusaders took Constantinople in 1204, Corfu fell into the hands of a variety of invaders until 1267 when it was occupied by the Angevins of Naples. Shortly thereafter the Angevins took over Angelokastro. The takeover is documented in a rare manuscript of the time confirming the change of ownership of the castle. The manuscript is the oldest written reference to the castle.[2] The Crusaders (formerly the Canterbury Crusaders) are a New Zealand Rugby Union team based in Christchurch, New Zealand that competes in the Super 14 (formerly the Super 12). ...
Map of Constantinople. ...
Angevin is the name applied to two distinct medieval dynasties which originated as counts (from 1360, dukes) of the western French province of Anjou (of which angevin is the adjectival form), but later came to rule far greater areas including England, Hungary and Poland (see Angevin Empire). ...
The Bay of Naples Naples (Italian: , Neapolitan: Nà pule, from Greek Îεάπολη < ÎÎα Πόλις Néa Pólis New City) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of the Campania region and the Province of Naples. ...
Venetians  Angelokastro south east elevation. The church can be seen at the top of the south side near the edge of the castle In 1386 the castle came under the ownership of the Most Serene Republic of Venice (Venetian: Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta). Throughout the period of the Venetian rule the castle enjoyed great prominence because it offered protection to the locals from foes such as the Genoan pirates ((Italiian Genovese) to the west as well as the Turks to the east. The Turks were never able to penetrate its defences.[2] The Most Serene Republic of Venice was a city-state in Venetia in Northeastern Italy, based around the city of Venice. ...
A business sign in Venetian Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy. ...
Italian ( , or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 70 million people, primarily in Italy. ...
The Venetians, being the prominent maritime power of the era, used it to monitor the shipping lanes in the southern Adriatic and the Ionian sea. The Castellan (Venetian: Castellano) i.e. the Governor of the castle was appointed by the city of Corfu and was a nobleman whose family name was included in the Venetian originated Libro d'oro or Golden book, a list of the aristocratic families of Corfu.[2] The Ionian Sea. ...
A castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. ...
Under the dominion of Venice Corfu was defended throughout the period of her occupation. However invasions and associated destruction still occured during this time, especially at the undefended areas of the island.[2]
Genoan pirate attempt of 1403 In 1403 the Genoese pirate fleet made an attempt to occupy Angelokastro. The Genoan pirates burned and pillaged the surrounding area. They then followed by an attempt to occupy the castle. After furious battles with the Corfiot garrison they were repulsed.[1]
The Turkish Siege of 1571 In August of 1571 the Turks made another of many attempts at conquering Corfu. Having seized Parga and Mourtos from the Greek mainland side they attacked the Paxi islands, killing, looting and burning. Subsequently they landed on Corfu's southeast shore and established a large beachhead all the way from the southern tip of the island at Lefkimi to Ipsos in Corfu's midsection of the eastern part of the island. These areas were thoroughly pillaged and burnt as in past encounters. Nevertheless the city castle stood firm.[1] A beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit (by sea) reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements (hopefully) help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. ...
The Turks also attacked Angelokastro at that time trying to establish a beachhead at the northwestern part of the island.
The Corfiot garisson at Angelokastro stood firm.[1] These Turkish defeats both at the city castle in the east and Angelokastro in the west proved decisive and the Turks abandoned their attempt at conquering Corfu.
Modern times With the advent of modern warfare the castle's importance declined and gradually it fell into a state of disrepair.[2] The passage of time did to the castle what no aspiring conqueror could. From 1997, however, the Corfu chapter of the Society of Byzantine Antiquities of Greece has undertaken a restoration programme under the co-sponsorship of the Greek Ministry of Culture and the European Union.[2] Modern warfare is a complex affair, involving the widespread use of highly advanced technology. ...
The Hellenic Ministry of Culture (official name) or Greek Ministry of Culture, located in Athens, Greece, was founded in September 1971. ...
The castle has been closed to the public for the duration of the excavations and the reconstruction that started in 1997 and will continue well into 2007 and beyond.
Cited references - ^ a b c d e History of Corfu
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Information notice board of the Society of Byzantine Antiquities of Greece (Corfu Chapter) at the Angelokastro site
General references - Information notice board of the Society of Byzantine Antiquities of Greece (Corfu Chapter) at the Angelokastro site.
- History of Corfu
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