page_title: Kassiopi Castle
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Kassiopi Castle / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Rear view of Main Gate of Kassiopi Castle
context_page_description: Kassiopi Castle is a castle on the northeastern coast of Corfu overseeing the fishing village of Kassiopi. It was one of three Byzantine-period castles that defended the island before the Venetian era. The castles formed a defensive triangle, with Gardiki guarding the island's south, Kassiopi the northeast and Angelokastro the northwest.
  Its position at the northeastern coast of Corfu overseeing the Corfu Channel that separates the island from the mainland gave the castle an important vantage point and an elevated strategic significance.
  Kassiopi Castle is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands, along with Angelokastro, Gardiki Castle and the two Venetian Fortresses of Corfu City, the Citadel and the New Fort.
context_section_description: The main gate of the castle is protected by strong fore-walls (Greek: προτειχίσματα). This arrangement is similar to other castles and structures found in Epirus, such as the Castle of Riza and the Monastery of Kato Vassiliki.
  The perimeter of the castle has a length of 1.073 km and is of a quadrilateral shape with 19 strong towers of alternating circular and rectangular cross sections guarding the walls and runs in the southwest to northeast direction. The interior of the castle has an area of 35,177 m² and is empty of any structures although filled with olive trees. The central tower of the castle has disappeared but the main gate exists and is supported by two strong towers on either side. 
  Each of the gate towers has two floors and the gate features protective wall extensions which restrict access from the sides, a feature which is designed to prevent surprise ambush from an enemy hiding at the side of the gate. The ambush avoidance feature is further augmented by the terrain which slopes upward at the gate. The thickness of the wall at the gate is 1.9 m. There are ruins of a forewall in front of the gate which could have functioned as an installation of a large iron structure which would have secured the gate.
  There are indications that both strong towers at each side of the gate had installations that facilitated the movement of the iron gate closure. The defence of the castle was mainly achieved through warfare from the battlements, although no battlement structures survive. The shape of the battlements is uncertain and although in artistic representations they look like the letter "M", it is still not known if that representation is simply the artist's imagination.
  Since the walls of the castle are vertical, and not inclined so that cannon projectiles could bounce off them, the design was meant to repulse conventional siege machinery developed prior to the advent of artillery. Such conventional equipment would have included ladders, siege towers, and battering rams. The overall design of the castle is modest and characteristic of its provincial origin. The rectangular towers are older than the cylindrical ones and there are indications that the technology of the cylindrical towers may have been belatedly introduced to the fortress, given its rural and provincial location.
  Since the castle was abandoned for a long time, its structure is in a state of ruin. The eastern side of the fort has disappeared and only a few traces of it remain. There are indications that castle stones have been used as building material for houses in the area. Access to the fortress is mainly from the southeast through a narrow walkway which includes passage from homes and backyards, since the castle is at the centre of the densely built area of the small village of Kassiopi.
caption: Rear view of the main gate complex
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