_ 166 _ into the sea from Morea, called [Gallo], one hundred and forty miles from Kythira. Eighty miles from the island of Zakinthos, a staging-point for all the carracks sailing from the Levant to Venice. We passed the island of Kefalonia, thirty miles from Zakinthos and fifty miles long. Here, there is always a captain placed by the Seigniory with about two hundred soldiers for the defense of the island in a very well-fortified castle. These are in addition to the other people in the island, who are very numerous, and there is a superintendent who governs them. In Zakinthos, although the Seigniory also has a captain there, there is no enclosed settlement or castle, because it is all earth and not suitable. The next day, we came to the island of Corfu, which has the finest fortress in the world, key to Italy and the Gulf. It is one hundred and thirty miles from Zakinthos. It is thirty miles long, and there is always a governor or superintendent, with five captains and five hundred soldiers, and a commander with two councilors who govern it. There are two castellans in two castles, and the entrance to these is divided by a drawbridge. They are not permitted to see or speak to one another throughout the year, nor to leave, except at Easter and
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