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Angelokastro ( (Castle of Angelos or Castle of the Angel); ) 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 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. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle. The exact period of the building of the castle is not known, but it has often been attributed to the reigns of Michael I Komnenos and his son Michael II Komnenos.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Latins in the Levant )〕〔〔Andrea Marmora, ''Della Historia di Corfù'', 1672, Libro 4, (p. 210 ) "Adorno egli di nobilissimi edificii la Città; fabbricò in posto, molto atto alla difesa, il castel S. Angelo; ..."〕 The first documentary evidence for the fortress dates to 1272, when Giordano di San Felice took possession of it for Charles of Anjou, who had seized Corfu from Manfred, King of Sicily in 1267. From 1387 to the end of the 16th century, Angelokastro was the official capital of Corfu and the seat of the ''Provveditore Generale del Levante'', governor of the Ionian islands and commander of the Venetian fleet, which was stationed in Corfu.〔 The governor of the castle, known as the "Castellan", was normally appointed by the City council of Corfu and was chosen amongst the noblemen of the island.〔 Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands, along with Kassiopi Castle, Gardiki Castle and the two Venetian Fortresses of Corfu City, the Citadel and the New Fort.〔 ==Name== The name may be related to the Komnenoi Angeloi, Despots of Epirus.〔 The earliest textual reference to the castle is in an Angevin document of 1272,〔 which refers to it as ''Castrum Sancti Angeli'' or ''Castrum S. Angeli'',〔 'Castle of the Holy Angel'.〔Stuart Rossiter, ''Greece'' (Blue Guides), 1977, p. 480〕 Venetian documents of the 17th century call it ''Castel'' or ''Castello Sant' Angelo''.〔''Descrizione dell'isola di Corfù fatta nel 1630 da Stefano Mastraca'', Venice, 1869, (pp. 9, 13 )〕〔Paolo Paruta, ''Dell'Historia Vinetiana'', parte seconda, (p. 199 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Angelokastro (Corfu)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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