Vathy

A small French fort stands on a hill at the edge of the southwestern arm of the Gulf of Vathy in Ithaca, facing a counterpart bastion at Loutsa on the northeastern side of the bay. Together, the two guarded the entrance to what is an excellent natural harbour. Ithaca, like the rest of the Ionian Islands, passed under French rule between 1807 and 1815, following the Treaty of Tilsit, which ceded the islands to Napoleon. The French, as they did at Gouvia and on the islet of Vido, moved quickly to repair and raise fortifications, so both forts at the mouth of the gulf were probably built in 1807 or 1808. The castle has recently undergone restoration and some landscaping, though details of this work are scarce. Its condition is relatively good, and it remains a quiet, functional relic of a brief but busy French interlude in Ionian history.