In the 14th century the people of Parga requested the protection of the Normans, the rulers of the island of Corfu, against raids by the Albanian tribes that caused so much suffering in the region. The Normans agreed to intervene and built the first castle. Soon, though, they abandoned all their possessions. In 1401 the people of Parga signed a new treaty with the Venetians, who restored the fortifications. Their castle was demolished in 1537 by the infamous Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa. The Venetians rebuilt it later on but it was destroyed again in 1571 by the Ottomans. That same year the Venetians, rather persistent in this regard, erected a new castle, which seemed to rise from its ashes like the mythical phoenix. Today the castle owes its appearance to the work of Ali Pasha in 1819.