Coast of Corfu

Off the coasts of Albania and western Greece, Corfu guards the sea approaches to the Adriatic. Its fortified port was a vital station on Venice's maritime routes, protected by strongholds overlooking the water. Ottoman forces repeatedly attacked the island; after the siege of 1537 devastated the suburbs, Venice strengthened the town's defenses and built a new fortress above the harbor. In 1716 its defenders repelled another Ottoman siege, preserving a key Venetian base at the entrance to the Adriatic.