Nafplio

Nafplio, is the capital of Argolida prefecture, 148 km from Athens and has 14.000 residents. It was the first capital of newer Greece and has a lot of neoclassic buildings, historical squares, old churches, venetian balconies and Turkish mosques.
In Palamidi one can admire the ruins of seven fortresses, many cells that used to be prisons as well as the historical church of St. Andreas that dominates from the Venetian times. In one of these cells Kolokotronis (revolution hero) was put to jail. Six of the eight fortresses have the names of ancient warriors and generals (Themistoklis, Miltiadis, Achilles, Fokion, Epaminondas, and Leonidas).
In Palamidi you can reach the top by car, but the steep, curved on the rock 857 steps (referred to as 999 steps) are the ideal way of approaching because of the marvelous view.
Akronafplia, the peninsula of Nafplio, with the castle of Greeks in the southern side and the castle of Franks in the westerner, connected with a secret passage with Palamidi.
In Mpourtzi you will see the small fortress build from the Venetians. It is 450m from the mole of Nafplio and in Venetian times it was linked with Akronafplia with a chain, that closed the entry of the harbour for undesirable ship. After the liberation, Mpourtzi was the residence of the executioners of Palamidi, while for a small period of time it functioned as a hotel.
In the city are many sights that testify of its historical importance. Some of them are the Square of Constitution and the churches of St. Georgios, St. Spiridona and St. Nikolaos.

In mythology the city of Nafplio was build from Nafplio, son of Neptune and Danaean Amymoni. Discoveries determine the history of the city from the prehistoric era and according to mythology the city had taken part in the Argonautic Expedition.
The city remained independent and flourishing until the 7th century BC when it was destroyed by the Argeians. In the Hellenistic time, the hill of Akronafplia was fortified and the city began to prosper again. However during the Roman conquest the decline was inevitable.
The city knew a lot of conquerors and came to the Franks in 1210, to the Venetians in 1377 and finally to the Turks in 1540. Under the Ottoman domination the city was the capital of Moria and after the liberation in 1828 the new government of Ioannis Kapodistiras made the city the first capital of the Greek State.