The Castle of Ioannina is located on a rocky promontory at the western shores of Pamvotis Lake. It is considered the most important monument of Ioannina, as it has a continuous historical route. The first settlements are dated back to the beginning of the first millenium BC (1,100 – 900 BC), though an organized city got formed only at the late 5th – early 4th c. BC. Despite the fact that it was probably one of the cities referred in the ancient sources as destroyed by the Romans in 167 BC., life went on, so that the city got prosperous in the Byzantine and -later- in the Ottoman era, and beyond, untill today.
The current form of the Castle is a result of Ali Pasha’s renovations in the early 19th century. The fortification incorporated the major part of the byzantine one. The NE citadel became a religious center, while the SE citadel (Its Kale) got extended in order to protect the Seray complex (now in ruins), forming an autonomous internal fortification.
Furthermore, within the Castle and outside the citadels, a few more interesting buildings are still preserved, mostly of the Ottoman era, as well as the Synagogue of the Jews of Ioannina, whose present form is dated in  1829.