Ali Pasha Castle ( sq, Kalaja e Ali Pashës) is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. It is named after

Ali Pasha of Tepelenë Ali Pasha of Ioannina (1740 – 24 January 1822), was an Albanian ruler who served as pasha of a large part of western Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territories, which was referred to as the Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioanni ...

who resided there until 1820. The current fortress was rebuilt in 1819 from its surface with 3 towers. Until 1820 it was the second residence of Ali Pashe Tepelena. Kalaja e Ali Pashe Tepelenes ne Shqiperi

Kalaja e Ali Pashe Tepelenes ne Shqiperi

History

Built under Venetian dominion in the late 15th or early 16th century, it provided a stronghold for the Venetians on Corfu to exploit fishing, grazing, olives and timber in and around

Butrint Butrint ( el, Βουθρωτόν and Βουθρωτός, ''Bouthrōtón'', la, Buthrōtum) was an ancient Greek and later Roman city and bishopric in Epirus. "Speakers of these various Greek dialects settled different parts of Greece at differen ...

. The castle was the centrepiece of numerous conflicts with the burgeoning

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, and changed hands on several occasions. It was destroyed by a retreating French army in 1798 to prevent it falling into the hands of Ali Pasha. The fortification attributed to Ali Pasha at Butrint lies some due west at the mouth of the

Vivari Channel The Vivari Channel ( Albanian: Kanali i Butrintit, also known as Butrinto River) links Lake Butrint in Albania with the Straits of Corfu, and forms a border of the peninsula of Butrint. The channel flows in both directions, from the lake to ...

. This in itself began life in the late 17th or early 18th century as a fortified estate centre belonging to a Corfiote family that farmed land on the plains south of the ancient city. Ali Pasha seized control of the structure around 1804 and carried out a series of defensive improvements including the installation of gun batteries. Given its small size it is unlikely that the fort functioned as anything more than a control over access from the sea to Butrint, and it can not be compared to Ali's more redoubtable fortresses in the region at Tepelena, Gjirokastra and

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

References

Castles in Albania Tourist attractions in Albania 18th-century fortifications Vlorë County Tourist attractions in Vlorë County Buildings and structures in Sarandë Ottoman fortifications Ali Pasha of Ioannina Butrint National Park {{Albania-castle-stub

History

See also

References