Corfu's walled town stands on the island's eastern promontory under a citadel on two peaks (Koryphai), which give the medieval name; its harbour commands the mouth of the Adriatic between Otranto and the Epirote coast.
The Normans took the island in 1081 (general knowledge), in 1147 (George of Antioch; Manuel I won it back in 1149 after a ten-month siege) and in 1185 (William II; the Byzantines had it back by 1191). That winter it is held either by the Genoese corsair Leone Vetrano, on the usual dating of his seizure, or by an imperial governor.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not pinned: the Genoese corsair Leone Vetrano on the usual dating (seized 1197 or about 1199), otherwise an unnamed imperial governor
- Title
- Island town and citadel
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
Not pinned: Leone Vetrano on the usual dating of his seizure (see Vetrano (Corfu)); otherwise an imperial governor for Alexios III.
Overlord
The emperor claims it (it is among the places open to Venetian trade in his privilege of November 1198, Miller); the corsair recognizes no one.
Allies and rivals
Venice wants the island (it is assigned to Venice in 1204 and taken in 1206); the count of Kefalonia is the nearest Latin neighbour.
How things stand that morning
Contested: Vetrano's on the usual dating, the emperor's by right and perhaps in fact.
Council
The archontes of the town; the Greek metropolitan of Corfu (name in 1200 not pinned).
Communities
Greek islanders; Genoese seamen if Vetrano holds it; Venetian traders under the imperial privileges.
Militia
The citadel garrison, imperial or the corsair's; no numbers.
Walls and castle
The medieval town lies within the eastern peninsula (from late antiquity until the 13th century), under the citadel on the two peaks, the later Old Fortress; the higher western peak was fortified by the Byzantines about the 12th century, and Anna Komnene calls Corfu a very strongly fortified city. Kassiopi castle guards the north-east coast (Kassiopi).
Trade and crafts
Island farms (Miller: 'the then rich and fertile island'); the harbour on the sea road between Apulia and the Greek coasts; on the corsair dating, plunder and ransom.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1206 (beyond 1200)Venice takes and sacks Corfu and puts Vetrano to death (it.wikipedia); Venetian rule lasts until Michael of Epirus takes the island in 1214.Depends on: The partition of 1204 Stopped by: A surviving empire
Places of note
- Citadel of Corfu: The two peaks (Koryphai)
Where the sources disagree
- Holder that winter not pinned: see Vetrano (Corfu) for the conflicting dates of the corsair's seizure.
Evidence: The island's occupations are known in outline; who held it on 1 January 1200 rests on unsourced dates for Vetrano's seizure.
Sources and studies
- History of Corfu (en.wikipedia)
- Corfu (en.wikipedia)
- Ionian Islands under Venetian rule (en.wikipedia)
- Old Fortress, Corfu (en.wikipedia)
- W. Miller, The Latins in the Levant (1908), chapter I
- Leone Vetrano (it.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.