The castle of Chlemoutsi, dominates the top of a hill, at the western end of the Peloponnese, with a panoramic view of the valley of Ilia and the Ionian Sea. It was built by Gidephrios I Villarreal in about 1220 AD. and was imposed, like the forlorn fortress of the Frankish Principality of Achaia. He passed by Greek, Venetian or Turkish rulers, until the period of the Greek Revolution for Independence. It retained its strong Frankish features almost unchanged so that it is today a striking example of a fortress, Frankish architecture in the Peloponnese.