Palamidi Fortress
Palamidi Fortress is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Nafplio audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~90 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type castle
- Suggested visit ~90 min
- Nafplio Nafplio guide
About Palamidi Fortress
A vast Venetian fortress of eight bastions crowning a 216-metre hill above Nafplio, reached by a famous staircase and once the prison of Kolokotronis.
Palamidi is a Venetian baroque fortress built during Venice's second occupation of the Peloponnese, its vast complex completed in the short span of 1711 to 1714. It crowns a rocky hill about 216 metres high, directly above Acronauplia and the old town. It was designed by the Venetian engineer Antonio Giancix and built by the French engineer Pierre de la Salle, and its defences form a chain of eight self-contained bastions, named after the Greek capture in 1822 for ancient heroes such as Miltiades, Leonidas and Themistokles.
Only a year after completion the fortress fell to the Ottomans in 1715; Greek fighters led by Staikos Staikopoulos stormed and captured it on 30 November 1822. From around 1840 the Miltiades bastion became a prison, and Palamidi served as one into the 1920s. In May 1834 Theodoros Kolokotronis was jailed here for high treason and released about eleven months later. The fortress is famously reached by a long staircase, popularly said to have 999 steps, though the count is about 857.
Did you know? The climb to Palamidi is famously said to be 999 steps, but the stairway built under King Otto numbers about 857; legend claims the thousandth step was smashed by the hoof of Kolokotronis's horse.
How long should you spend at Palamidi Fortress?
Plan about ~90 min at Palamidi Fortress. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Palamidi Fortress worth visiting?
Palamidi Fortress is one of the 15 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Nafplio, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Nafplio
Day 1 of the Nafplio in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Palamidi Fortress
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