Day 91 of 111. The Castle of Palamidi, Greece

On a tall hill above the city of Nafplion a castle or fortress was built. This is a very well preserved fortress from the Venetian occupation. The castle dates back to the 18th Century A.D. There are three different fortifications in the city of Nafplion, one dates back to 100 B.C. Another small structure is actually in the water. Today, it is only accessible by boat, but in ancient times, there was a submerged bridge that could be raised out of the water.

The Palamidi Castle was built by the Venetian, taken over by the Turks, and finally reclaimed by the Greeks in the 1800’s. The castle has many stairs and storerooms. It also served as a prison. One interesting feature was a plaque showing the St. Mark’s Lion, a symbol of Venice. We followed a dozen Greek students into a prison cell. It was a tight climb through a short dark tunnel into the prison cell. The electric light allowed us to see the small stone room, but it must have been a terrible place when it was used as a prison.