Ali Pasha Castle in Porto Palermo

The Castle of Porto Palermo is built on a strip of land in the center of palermo`s Bay. This bay in mentioned in the ancient times by the name of "Panormus", the great harbor standing in the middle of the Ceraunian Mountains. At the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX century, Ali Pasha, after conquering the entire Ionian Coast, from Butrint to Vlora, started building several castles with the aim to control and fortify the strategic points of the coastline. One of the castles Ali Pasha built was the castle in Porto Palermo. Travelers of the early 19th century as well as the french Consul Francois Pouqueville and English Colonel William Martin Leake, testify that a military garrison stationed in the castle. More detailed descriptions of it and the bay in questions are found at the French consul, who writes: The bay of Porto Palermo has an exit about a quarter of a mile between the rocky points., where the sea furiously collides. The castle is located at the southern part of the entrance and connects to the continent through a low narrow belt. It consist of a square with several fortified positions, some cannons, some warehouses, a custom house and a church. St. Nikolla`s Church mentioned by Pouqueville, is still preserved and just like the castle it has been declared a cultural monument. Above the castle entrance there was a plaque, in the style of an epic poem proving that it was buil by Ali Pasha.