Still Churning

Peering over the shoulder of a Venetian cannon at the wind-whipped Gulf of Argolis.

Though abandoned during Roman times, Nafplion was later repopulated and fortified during the Byzantine period, remaining under Byzantine control until seized by the Franks in 1210-- the first conquest in what would become a tumultuous six hundred year cycle of capture and capitulation at foreign hands. In 1388, Nafplion was taken by the Venetians, who called it Napoli de Romanie (so as to distinguish it from Naples) and fortified it so securely that it resisted repeated Turkish attacks until finally handed over to the sultan in a peace treaty in 1540. Except for a brief period of recovery by the Venetians (1688-1715)-- during which time the Palamedi fortress was built-- Nafplion remained under Turkish domination until won over by Greece during the Revolution.

Nafplion, Greece - July, 1996

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