The Castle of Navarino or Paliokastro is located at the northern end of Navarino bay, in Pylos, right across the island of Sfaktiria. It’s located on a hill above the unique beach of Voidokilia and the lagoon of Gialova or Divari.
Paliokastro was built at the end of the 13th century by the Franks, on the ruins of the ancient fortification.
During Byzantine times, the area was referred to as “Avarino”. The name probably came from the Avars, who had settled in the surrounding area since the 6th century, along with Slavs.
In 1423, the Castle of Navarino was conquered by the Venetians in order to protect their other possessions in Messinia, such as Methoni. The Venetians considered Paliokastro an important hub for ship navigation control in the southern Ionian sea.
Navarino Castle was the only castle in the Peloponnese that did not fall into the hands of the Ottomans, but remained Venetian instead.However, in 1500, Sultan Bayezid II conquered Methoni and destroyed it. Navarino surrendered without a fight, so as not to be destroyed.
This was followed by a period of successive conquests of Paliokastro by different conquerors, sometimes Ottomans, sometimes pirates or Venetians.
In 1504, the Ottoman occupation of Paliokastro was finalized.
In the 16th century, the Turks, after their defeat in the naval battle of Nafpaktos, created the new castle of Pylos, Niokastro, on the other side (south) of the bay. This development led the castle of Navarino in decline. Moreover, the importance of Paleokastro was already limited, because its port was useless due to alluvium.
In 1821, with the outbreak of the Greek Revolution, Paliokastro and Niokastro were liberated.
On October 20, 1827 the castle took part in one of the most important battles in world history, the Battle of Navarino. From the point of Paliokastro, the Turkish-Egyptian forces were shelling the ships of the allied fleet (Russian, English and French fleets).
The castle has undergone many additions and modifications over the years.
It has a trapezoidal shape and occupies an area of about 50 acres. The walls and towers are mostly well-preserved, but inside the castle there are only ruins of public and private buildings, the catholic church and underground water tanks.
The big problem of the castle has always been the water, as there is no source of water on the rock.
Beneath the walls of Navarino castle is the “cave of Nestor” mentioned by Pafsanias, which communicates with Paleokastro. In this cave, according to legend, Hermes hid the cows he had stolen from Apollo. This cave was first explored by Henry Schliemann in 1874.
