| Castle of Santa Maura | |
|---|---|
Κάστρο της Αγίας Μαύρας | |
| Lefkada, Ionian Islands Region | |
 Sketch of the fortress by the Italian cartographer Giovanni Camocio (1574), seen from the mainland approach | |
  Castle of Santa Maura | |
| Coordinates | 38°50′40″N 20°43′13″E / 38.84444°N 20.72028°E |
| Type | walled town, later fortress |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
|
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Preserved |
| Site history | |
| Built | c. 1300, rebuilt 1572–1574, c. 1713 |
| Built by | County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, Ottoman Empire, Republic of Venice |
| Materials | hewn stone (ashlar) |
The Castle of Santa Maura (Greek: Κάστρο της Αγίας Μαύρας) is a fortress on the northeastern tip of the Greek island of Lefkada. The castle began as a small fortification in c. 1300 to control access to the island, before it was expanded to become a walled town and the island's capital by the early 15th century. The Ottoman Empire took possession in 1479, and a century later rebuilt and enlarged it, giving it largely its present shape. A sizeable town grew outside the castle walls by the 1670s.
The fortress was captured by the Republic of Venice in 1684 after a brief siege. Under the Venetians, the castle was converted into a purely military installation; the walled town and the outskirts adjoining the walls were razed to improve its defences, and the capital moved onto the island itself, at the site of the present city of Lefkada. The fortress was modernized in the early 18th century, but was briefly abandoned by the overstretched Venetians in 1715–1716, during the Republic's last war with the Ottomans. The fortress, like the island, changed hands between France, the Russians, the Septinsular Republic, and the French again in 1797–1810, before being captured by the British, who controlled it until the cession of the Ionian Islands to Greece in 1864.