page_title: Angelokastro (Corfu)
section_title: Architectural highlights
hierarchical_section_title: Angelokastro (Corfu) / Architectural highlights
caption_attribution_description: English: Please see filename
context_page_description: Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu, Greece. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island's shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 1,000 ft on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.
  Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.
  Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, which covered Corfu's defences to the south, northwest and northeast.
  The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat.
  During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population.
context_section_description: Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands along with four other fortifications of Corfu such as Gardiki Castle, the Kassiopi Castle built by the Angevins and the two Venetian Fortresses of Corfu City, the Citadel and the New Fort.
  The castle's west, northwest and south sides are protected by the terrain that slopes precipitously. Its foundation may have been Byzantine but, given its size, the  incorporation of its extraordinary natural surroundings into the design of the fortifications is not typically Byzantine and follows the tradition of small but practically impregnable fortresses which incorporate outstanding natural elements into their design.
  In contrast to the purely Byzantine style of Gardiki Castle which was also constructed in a single form, Angelokastro's architectural style may not have been  purely Byzantine and could have been influenced by Frankish or South Italian architectural elements, although the details of such influence are not discernible today due to its current state of ruin.
  French scholar Jean Alexandre Buchon, who visited the site in the 19th century, noted that the construction of its walls seemed rushed.
caption: Interior of the altar of the Aghia Kyriaki stone Church at Angelokastro featuring the smaller of the two Early-Christian closure slabs as its altar stone
exif: {"Image Make": "EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY", "Image Model": "KODAK P880 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "230", "Image YResolution": "230", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385", "Image DateTime": "2013:07:07 05:52:46", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "2342", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9532", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4408", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/30", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:07:03 14:21:24", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:07:03 14:21:24", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5", "EXIF ApertureValue": "3", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2448", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3264", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9378", "EXIF ExposureIndex": "100", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "24", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4046"}