The castle was conquered by the Venetians following a sixteen-day siege in 1684, during the Morean War. The Venetian commander, Francesco Morosini, evacuated the walled town and demolished both it and the two suburbs directly outside the walls, turning them into the castle's "glacis". The island's capital moved to the remaining suburb, at the site of the modern city of Lefkada. The Venetians modernized the castle by 1713, removing the remains of the medieval citadel; the eastern ramparts, facing the Ottoman-held mainland, were thickened and improved with the addition of two bastions, a ravelin and couvreface; and additional outworks were built on the flanks of the fortress.