Náfpaktos

Nafpaktos guards the northern shore near the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Its walls descend from a castle on the hill to embrace a small harbour, a position valued by powers from ancient Athens to the Venetian Republic. Western sailors knew the town as Lepanto; its sheltered port and the narrow waters beyond made it a naval station of enduring importance.

Venice acquired the town in 1407 and strengthened its defences, but the Ottomans captured it in 1499. In 1571 the fleets of the Holy League met the Ottoman navy in the waters to the west. The battle of Lepanto ended in a great victory for the Christian fleet, although the town itself remained Ottoman. Venice held it again from 1687 until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, after which it returned to Ottoman rule.