Monemvasía

Monemvasia stands on a fortified rock off the eastern Peloponnese, linked to the mainland by a narrow approach. Its maritime trade made its name familiar across Europe through the wine known as Malvasia or Malmsey. The town's position gave it importance both as a trading port and as a stronghold in the Byzantine Morea.

After the Ottoman conquest of much of the Morea, Monemvasia came under papal protection and then Venetian rule in the early 1460s. Venice surrendered it to the Ottomans in 1540. The Venetians recovered the town in 1690, but Ottoman forces took it again in 1715. These changes of sovereignty reflected the contested importance of the fortified port and its sea routes.