The Ioannina Castle is the fortified old town of the city of Ioannina in northwestern Greece. The present fortification dates largely to the reconstruction under Ali Pasha in the late Ottoman period, but incorporates also pre-existing Byzantine elements.

Layout and monuments

The castle is located on the southeastern corner of the modern city, on top a rocky promontory jutting into Lake Pamvotis. The castle is dominated by its two citadels, already established by the late 11th century as recorded in Anna Komnene’s Alexiad: the northeastern citadel, now dominated by the Ottoman Aslan Pasha Mosque, and the much larger southeastern citadel, known also as the Its Kale (from Turkish: Iç Kale, “Inner Castle”).