01Highlight
Palamidi
An 18th-century Venetian fortress with eight self-contained bastions at 216 metres. 857 steps or a short drive - the view over the Argolic gulf is immeasurable.
History
From Venetians and Ottomans to the first capital of Greece
01
Myth and antiquity
In myth, Nafplio was founded by Nafplios, son of Poseidon and Amymone. In Homeric times it belonged to the Argives and served as the harbour of Argos. Traces of habitation on the Akronafplia hill go back to the Mycenaean era.
02
Byzantium and the Franks
From the 6th century Nafplio grows into an important Byzantine port; in the 13th century it passes to the Franks and is absorbed into the Duchy of Athens. The successive fortifications of Akronafplia bear witness to its strategic weight on the Argolic gulf.
03
Venetian and Ottoman rule
The Venetians made Nafplio the capital of their 'Kingdom of the Morea' and built Palamidi - one of the finest fortresses in Europe - along with the Bourtzi in the harbour. In 1715 the town fell to the Ottomans after a siege of only eight days.
04
First capital of Greece
Liberated by Theodoros Kolokotronis in 1822, Nafplio served from 1829 to 1834 as the first capital of the modern Greek state - seat of Kapodistrias and later of King Otto. On the steps of the small church of Agios Spyridon, Kapodistrias was assassinated in 1831 - a wound the town still remembers.
