Porto Palermo Castle is a castle near Himarë in southern Albania. It is situated in the bay of Porto Palermo, a few kilometers south of Himarë along the Albanian Riviera.The information on this castle that is distributed by the locals is dubious at best.
They seem to think that it is a 200 year old castle, but anyone with a bit of knowledge of history can see that it is much, much older.It is amazing at how well kept it is on the inside. Very clean. It actually is a very beautiful structure. All that , if you are driving to Saranda you should definitely make this a stop. The location is stunning and it’s a great opportunity!
History
The well preserved castle is commonly, but wrongly, asserted, by guide books and the local tourist guides, to have been built in early 19th century by Ali Pasha of Tepelena.This is untrue as it has been built prior to the evolution of the star fort design. Most probably it was built by the Venetians as it could be relieved by sea and it has the same triangular plan with round towers found in the Venetian fort at Butrint. In 1921 the castle was called Venetian. At that time the identity of its builders ought to have been clear, from a plaque above the entrance gate. This plaque is now missing but the weathering of the stones clearly shows that it has not been missing for many decades. Almost certainly this plaque had a carving of the lion of St. Mark.