Castle of Saint George, Cephalonia

The Normans suffered heavy losses due to malaria and even Roger's father, Robert Guiscard, died on the island during this time.

[8] During the later 14th and early 15th century, the castle is attested as a residence of the Tocco family, rulers of the county palatine and of the Despotate of Epirus in the mainland.

[3][9] In August 1479, the Ottomans captured the island, besieged the fortress and killed most of the garrison, and carried off its inhabitants to resettle Constantinople.

[7] The settlement was gradually abandoned after 1757, when the Venetians moved the administrative seat of the island to Argostoli, and the site suffered further damage in World War II and in the 1953 Ionian earthquake.

[1] The Venetian-era enceinte with its single gate and the three bastions survive in good condition today, as do the chapel of the garrison, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Roman Catholic church of Saint Mark and the Greek Orthodox church of Saint Nicholas, the residence of the Venetian provveditore (governor), barracks, cisterns, storage rooms and gunpowder stores.