Gardiki - An octagonal fortress (13th century). by Jerelis
We parked the car under a huge olive tree and walked our way to the huge entrance of this powerful fortification. The castle is renowned for its impregnable fortifications that defended the residents of Corfu on numerous occasions from the marauding on all conquering enemies. It's an octagonal fortress from the 13th century and is built on a low hill and right in the middle there is this huge olive tree. The fact that the castle is nestled in the midst of verdant olive groves, imparts a touch of ethereal beauty to the castle's surroundings.The Corfiotes consider this a twin to the fortress at Angelokastro. Gardiki was built during the same period - and by Michael the II - the same Epirus Archbishop as that in Paliokastritsa. It consists of an ellipsoidal enclosure supported by 8 towers. It great to see that 6 of the 8 towers are nearly completely preserved. The surrounding walls were decorated with plinth lascias characteristic of Byzantine art. The remains that you can see to the right of the current entrance to the castle may possibly belong to a chapel of the fortification.
Address:
Fortress of Gardiki.
Directions:
Situated at the middle west east side of the island. It is a 21 km drive from the capital of Corfu, Corfu Town.
