In Ithaca, on the NE side of the entrance to the bay of Vathy, above Loutsa beach there are two cannons. These cannons seem - at first glance - to be placed on makeshift bases, but in reality it is a small bastion (or what is left of it).

The bastion is not Venetian. It was part of a fort built by the French between 1807 and 1815 when the Ionian Islands were under French control. The cannons, however, are Venetian and had being brought much earlier to the island (perhaps in a different location).

The bastion is strategically located with a very good view of the mouth of the bay and the wider sea area.

Both cannons are made of iron. One is made in Venice with the emblem of Venice (the lion - photo 5). The other cannon is made in England with the emblem of the Tudors (the rose).

It is certain that the cannons were placed in Vathy after the end of the 7th Venetian-Turkish war (1714-1718) when the Venetians were defeated and forced to leave Moria permanently. By the end of that war, the Venetians had decommissioned 10 of their warships (because it was too expensive to keep all the warships and their crews active; moreover most of them were half-destroyed.)

The disarmament of the Venetian ships meant that many canons were left over. The Venetians placed many of these cannons in the Ionian fortresses to strengthen their defenses. One of them is the cannon with the Tudor coat of arms in Loutsa. The second cannon with the Venetian coat of arms came later as it is made between 1723-1745.

The English cannon was originally on the British ship Restoration which sank in 1711 off Livorno. In 1715 the Venetians in their frantic attempt to find ships and cannons to meet the demands of the war against the Turks (who were unexpectedly appeared with a very strong fleet) hoisted from the bottom of the sea 24 of the 70 cannons of Restoration. In this way these old English cannons were found on their warships. Two more of the Restoration cannons still exist in Greece: They are located in Lefkada, outside the castle of Agia Mavra.

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