Description of the attraction
Palamidi is a fortification in the city of Nafplio, located to the east of the Akronafplia fortress. The fortress is located on the top of a hill, the height of which is 216 m above sea level. Palamidi was built during the second period of Venetian rule (1685-1714).
The fortress was a very large and ambitious project, but its construction was completed in a fairly short time (1711-1714). Construction began on the initiative of Chief Superintendent Augustine Sagredo. The monumental structure was designed by French engineers Dzhaksich and Lazall. The fortress consists of eight autonomous bastions, interconnected by walls. It was assumed that if one of the bastions fell, the others could conduct a full-fledged defense. The Venetians gave each of the bastions names, but later they were renamed by the Turks and later by the Greeks. In 1715, Palamidi was captured by the Turks and remained under their control until 1822. After the revolution, a prison was located in the fortress.
The central bastion of St. Andrew was fortified much better than the others and was used as the main headquarters of the fortress. There is also the chapel of St. Andrew (previously dedicated to St. Gerado - the patron saint of the Sagredo family). Bastion Miltiades was a prison for especially dangerous criminals and here, since 1833, Theodoros Kolokotronis was imprisoned. He was accused of treason and was sentenced to death, but later pardoned and then completely released. One of the eight bastions (Phocion) was completely built by the Turks.
The Palamidi fortress has been well preserved to this day and is a true masterpiece of Venetian fortification architecture. You can get to the fortress by car along the asphalt road or on foot along the stairs, which has 857 steps (although the locals claim that there are 999 steps). From the top of the fortress, stunning panoramic views of the Argolic Gulf and Nafplio open up.
