OLD FORTRESS

Especially imposing when viewed from the sea, the magnificent Old Fortress lies on a small, rocky peninsula, immediately east of the old town. Built by the Venetians in 1546 on the site of an older castle, it is accessed off the Esplanade via a bridge that spans a moat, the famous contrafossa, measuring 15 meters deep and up to 40 meters wide. Inside the fortress is a small church, in the style of a Doric temple, built by the British in the 19th century. From the highest point, marked by a lighthouse, you have spectacular views west over town and east across the sea towards Albania.