Cas­tle Petrelë is a spec­tac­u­lar cas­tle sit­u­at­ed on the rocky hill of Petrelë in cen­tral Alba­nia. It is one of the old­est cas­tles in the region, with the main tow­er being built as ear­ly as the 6th cen­tu­ry AD and the rest of it being erect­ed dur­ing the 15th cen­tu­ry by East­ern Roman emper­or Jus­tin­ian I. Its strate­gic posi­tion is evi­denced by its tri­an­gu­lar shape and two large tow­ers, which proved essen­tial to Skanderbeg’s defense against Ottoman forces through­out his bat­tles. The extra­or­di­nary struc­ture was also once home to Mam­i­ca Kas­tri­oti, Skanderbeg’s niece, who zeal­ous­ly guard­ed it from for­eign intrud­ers. As part of the Kru­jë Cas­tle sig­nalling sys­tem, fires were sent between both tow­ers to issue warn­ings in the event of an attack. The cas­tle boasts breath­tak­ing views from its high­est point and vis­i­tors can explore its wind­ing cor­ri­dors and cham­bers with detailed fres­coes depict­ing events from local his­to­ry.