#genoese colonies

• Asprokastron — The Greek-origin name (meaning 'White Castle') under which the historic fortress and city at the mouth of the Dniester River, later named Cetatea Albă, was known in medieval Byzantine and Genoese documents. It represents a commercial and strategic node of crucial importance on the Black Sea coast, historically contested between the Byzantine Empire, the Republic of Genoa, the Principality of Moldavia (under the reign of Stephen the Great), and the Ottoman Empire.