Náfplion

Nafplion lies on the Argolic Gulf, where a harbour and fortified heights connect the Peloponnesian interior with Mediterranean routes. Venice acquired the lordship of Argos and Nafplion in 1388 and strengthened the town's defences. After resisting Ottoman sieges, Nafplion surrendered in 1540 and became the seat of an Ottoman sanjak. Venice recaptured it in 1685 and made it the capital of its Kingdom of the Morea. The Venetians built the great Palamidi fortress above the town between 1711 and 1714, but the Ottomans retook it in 1715. During the Greek War of Independence, Greek forces captured Palamidi in 1822; the town subsequently became a seat of the provisional Greek government and an early capital before Athens.