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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

Map of Castel Tornese Castel Tornese (Hlemoutsi) 

Key dates:
1220-23 The castle is built by Geoffrey of Villehardouin
1320ca it became a possession of the Count of Cefalonia
1427 it was peacefully acquired by the Byzantines
1460 Turkish occupation
1687 The Venetians conquer the castle
1715 The castle is reconquered by the Turks

Castel Tornese, in French Clermont was built by Geoffrey of Villehardouin (Prince of Achaia) to protect his kingdom in the western part of Peloponnese. The Italian name makes reference to the Tournois a coin minted in the castle and similar to the coinage of Tours in France. The castle is located on the summit of a hill at the westernmost promontory of Peloponnese and it faces the islands of Zante and Cefalonia.

View of Castel Tornese from the ferry going to Zante
View of Castel Tornese from the ferry going to Zante

The view from the sea shows the structure of Castel Tornese: the castle at the top of the hill and a wall around the southern part of the castle.

The external walls of the fortress
The external walls of the fortress

Castel Tornese was under Venetian control for a short period and the Venetians did not make any changes to it. The external walls were added by the Turks, who built a mosque (lost) and other facilities in the area between the castle and the external walls. In 1825 it was bombarded by Ibrahim Pacha, as it had been seized by the Greeks during the war which eventually led to the independence of Greece.

View of the medieval castle
View of the medieval castle

The castle shows its medieval structure, based on a polygonal shape with round towers at each corner. The towers are not higher than the walls.

In the courtyard
In the courtyard

The courtyard of the castle is rather small and once there the visitor realizes that the walls of the castle are actually made of large buildings and that the castle is a sort of fortified palace.

Structure of the buildings
Structure of the buildings

The castle was not only for the soldiers to live in. Its large rooms could host the court of the Prince of Achaia. During the period the castle belonged to the Counts of Cefalonia, of Neapolitan origin, the King of Naples used to spend some months in the castle. Dances and tournaments, knights and ladies brought to this corner of Greece a lifestyle we usually associate with other parts of Europe (in the background of this page a detail from a painting by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in Siena).

Views from the fortress: the site of the port of Glarenza and Zante
Views from the castle: Zante and the site of the (lost) port of Glarenza

From the castle the Princes of Achaia could see what was going on in the port of Glarenza (just a mile off today's port of Kylini) or in that of Zante.

Glarenza

The port of Glarenza was protected by a castle: both are lost. The site is now being excavated and the location of the main church of the town has been identified. A mound covers the walls: its shape gives an idea of the size of the castle.

The site of Glarenza castle and the 2002 state of the excavations
The site of Glarenza castle and the 2002 state of the excavations

Glarenza (or Clarentza) gave its name to one of the titles of the English Royal Family (Duke of Clarence): Clarentza, with the district around it (which comprised almost all of ancient Elis), was formed into a Duchy; the title and the dukedom continued until the male line failed, and the heiress of Clarence married into the Hainault family. By this union, Phillippa, the consort of Edward III, became the representative of the Dukes of Clarence; and on this account Prince Lionel was invested with the title, which has remained in the English Royal Family ever since.

Excerpts from Memorie Istoriografiche del Regno della Morea Riacquistato dall'armi della Sereniss. Repubblica di Venezia printed in Venice in 1692 and related to this page:

Chiarenza

Alle sponde destre del Fiume Igliaco chiamato da Tolomeo Penoeus Fluvius, erta sopra colle vicino alle spiaggie del Golfo di Patrasso giace Chiarenza, creduta l'antica Cyllene, Patria di Mercurio. Cyllenius Heros per tal cagione detto. Questa fu principale della Ducea de medemo nome, quale sotto il governo de natii Principi, come portava i chiarori nel nome, così era più ch'illustre al Mondo: i Veneti con giusto carattere la possederno, e ove in que tempi s'attrovava ben condizionata, vedesi al giorno d'hoggi si sprovista, che di suo le Fosse solo, e vestigie appaiono; il porto pure che di Chiarenza appellavasi, poco gl'era discosto; e se un tempo fù di molto capace, non riceve al presente, che sabbia, della qual'è ripieno.

Castello Tornese

Giace Castello Tornese sopra l'ultimo Promontorio del Ducato di Chiarenza, in quella parte che riguarda la Provincia di Belvedere trà il Golfo di Chiarenza e quello dell'Arcadia, chiamato al riporto di Baudrand Chelonates dal nome con che Strabone appella il di lui Promontorio, nomato altrimenti dalli Turchi Clemoutzi, posto in eminente sito, tre miglia incirca lungi dalle sponde del Mare.

Introductory page on the Venetian Fortresses

Map of the fortresses Corfu Butrinto Dodoni Ioanina Parga Paxi Preveza Nikopolis Vonizza Santamaura/Lefkada Asso Itaca Patrasso, Castel di Rumelia, Castel di Morea Lepanto Cefalonia Zante Navarino Calamata Castel Tornese and Glarenza Modon Corone Mistrà Malvasia Castelrosso Schiatto Scopello Alonisso Negroponte Oreo Corinto Egina Atene Hadrian's Athens Napoli di Romania/Nafplio Argo Cerigo/Kythira Tinos Micono Milo Nasso Candia/Creta Fortresses of Maina Lemno Stampalia Scio Schiro Andro Spezzia Imbro Tenedo Patmo Lero Calimno Metelino Metimno Cunda Candarli Fochies Cismes Argentiera Sifno Serifo Paris Antiparis Siro Rhodes Coo Castel S. Pietro Lindos Nissiros Symi Castelrosso (Kastelorizo) The Asklepeion of Kos Santorino Folegandros Afrodisias Ephesus Kale Sultanieh Kilitbahir Pergamum Sardis Seddulbahir Roman Smyrna Delphi Priene Miletus Didyma Iasos Euromos Milas Eleusis Roman Corinth default - Corfù
Clickable map: hover on the dots

On the Ionian Islands:     Corfù (Kerkyra)     Paxo (Paxi)     Santa Maura (Lefkadas)     Cefalonia (Kephallonia)     Asso (Assos)     Itaca (Ithaki)     Zante (Zachintos)     Cerigo (Kythera)
On the mainland: Butrinto (Butrint)     Parga     Preveza and Azio (Aktion)     Vonizza (Vonitsa)     Lepanto (Nafpaktos)     Atene (Athens)
On Morea:     Castel di Morea (Rio), Castel di Rumelia (Antirio) and Patrasso (Patra)     Castel Tornese (Hlemoutsi) and Glarenza     Navarino (Pilo) and Calamata     Modon (Methoni)     Corone (Koroni)     Braccio di Maina, Zarnata, Passavà and Chielefà     Mistrà     Corinto (Korinthos)     Argo (Argos)     Napoli di Romania (Nafplio)     Malvasia (Monemvassia)
On the Aegean Sea:     Negroponte (Chalki)     Castelrosso (Karistos)     Oreo     Lemno (Limnos)     Schiatto (Skiathos)     Scopello (Skopelos)     Alonisso     Schiro (Skyros)     Andro (Andros)     Tino (Tinos)     Micono (Mykonos)     Siro (Syros)     Egina (Aegina)     Spezzia (Spetse)     Paris (Paros)     Antiparis (Andiparos)     Nasso (Naxos)     Serifo (Serifos)     Sifno (Syphnos)     Milo (Milos)     Argentiera (Kimolos)     Santorino (Thira)     Folegandro (Folegandros)     Stampalia (Astipalea)     Candia (Kriti)
Genoese Bases:     Metelino (Mytilini)     Metimno (Molyvos)     Cunda (Alibey)     Fochies (Foca)     Candarli     Cismes (Cesme)     Scio (Chios)
Fortresses of the Knights of Rhodes:     Lero (Leros)     Calimno (Kalimnos)     Coo (Kos)     Castel S. Pietro (Bodrum)     Symi     Nissiros     Rhodes (Rodos)     Lindos     Castelrosso (Kastelorizo)     Other fortresses
Ottoman fortresses:     Imbro (Gokceada)     Tenedo (Bozcaada)     Seddulbahir     Kale Sultanieh (Canakkale)     Cilitbahir
Other locations shown in the map:     Patmos     Dodoni (Dodona)     Nikopolis     Roman Corinth     Hadrian's Athens     Pergamum     Roman Smyrna     Sardis (Sart)     Ephesus     Afrodisia     Delphi     Eleusis     Ioanina    Kos    Priene    Miletus    Didyma    Iasos    Euromos    Milas

You may refresh your knowledge of the history of Venice in the Levant by reading an abstract from the History of Venice by Thomas Salmon, published in 1754. The Italian text is accompanied by an English summary.