The castle sits atop an imposing rock formation on the northern edge of the bay, flanked by sheer cliffs; the naturally defensible site has probably been occupied since
classical times. Although there are no physical barriers to access, the castle ruins have been declared "closed" because the structure is considered dangerous. In 1204, following the
Fourth Crusade, the Peloponnese or
Morea came under the rule of the
Principality of Achaea, a
Frankish Crusader state. According to the French and Greek versions of the
Chronicle of the Morea, the castle was built by
Nicholas II of Saint-Omer, the lord of
Thebes, who in received extensive lands in Messenia in exchange for ceding his wife's possessions of
Kalamata and
Chlemoutsi to the princely domain. According to the Greek version, he intended this as a future fief for his nephew,
Nicholas III, although the
Aragonese version attributes the construction to Nicholas III himself, a few years later. According to the medievalist
Antoine Bon, a construction under Nicholas II in the 1280s is more likely, possibly in the period 1287–89 when he served as the viceroy () of Achaea. Despite Nicholas II's intentions, however, it is unclear whether his nephew did indeed inherit Navarino. If he did, it remained his until his death in 1317, when it and all the Messenian lands of the family reverted to the princely domain, as Nicholas III had no children. The fortress remained relatively unimportant thereafter, except for the 1350s, when the
Genoese seized it as a base for raids into the
Venetian possessions in the area; a
naval battle took place there in 1354 between Venice and Genoa. In 1364 the castle was held by
Mary of Bourbon during her conflict with the Prince
Philip of Taranto, due to Mary's attempt to claim the Principality following the death of her husband,
Robert of Taranto. Mary had been given possession of Navarino (along with Kalamata and
Mani) by Robert in 1358, and the local
castellan, loyal to Mary, briefly imprisoned the new Prince's , Simon del Poggio. Mary retained control of Navarino until her death in 1377. At about this time,
Albanians settled in the area, while in 1381/2, Navarrese, Gascon and Italian mercenaries were active there. From the early years of the 15th century, Venice set its eyes on the fortress of Navarino, fearing lest its rivals the Genoese seize it and use it as a base for attacks against the Venetian outposts of
Modon and
Coron. In the event, the Venetians seized the fortress themselves in 1417 and, after prolonged diplomatic manoeuvring, succeeded in legitimizing their new possession from the Prince of Achaea,
Centurione II Zaccaria, in 1423. In 1423, Navarino, like the rest of the Peloponnese, suffered its first Ottoman raid, led by
Turakhan Bey, which was repeated in 1452. It was also at Navarino that Emperor
John VIII Palaiologos embarked in 1437, heading for the
Council of Ferrara, and where the last
Despot of the Morea,
Thomas Palaiologos, embarked with his family in 1460, following the
Ottoman conquest of the Morea. After 1460, the fortress, along with the other Venetian outposts and
Monemvasia and the
Mani Peninsula, were the only Christian-held areas in the peninsula. Venetian control over Navarino survived the
First Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–79), but not the
Second (1499–1503): following the Venetian defeat in the
Battle of Modon in August 1500, the 3,000-strong garrison surrendered, although it was well provisioned for a siege. The Venetians nevertheless recaptured it shortly after, on 3/4 December, almost by chance, with a force of only 50 men; but on 20 May 1501, a joint Ottoman land and sea attack under
Kemal Reis and
Hadım Ali Pasha retook it. In 1572, after the
Battle of Lepanto, Old Navarino was attacked by the forces of
John of Austria, who had previously failed to capture Modon. The timely arrival of Ottoman reinforcements, the barren terrain that offered no cover, and the lack of provisions by the besiegers doomed the enterprise. In 1572/3, the Ottoman chief admiral (
Kapudan Pasha)
Uluç Ali Reis built the
New Navarino fortress, to replace the outdated Frankish castle, and the latter declined rapidly in importance: the new fortification covered better the main practical entrance to the bay towards the south, especially as the narrower northern entrance was blocked by ships scuttled in the aftermath of Lepanto; the new site also had a more secure water supply. By the late 16th century, the old castle had only a token garrison, and it became increasingly dilapidated and partly ruined through the 17th century. During the
Morean War, the Ottomans concentrated their defenses at the new fortress, and the old castle's 100-man garrison surrendered to the numerically far superior Venetians under
Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck without resistance on 2 June 1686. Its 43 cannon were captured intact. New Navarino was
captured shortly after. Along with the rest of the Peloponnese, the fortresses remained
in Venetian hands until 1715, when the Ottomans
recaptured the entire peninsula. Despite the castle's age, the Venetian inspectors sent to evaluate the Moreot fortresses in the late 17th century esteemed its natural position as far superior to New Navarino. As a result, the Venetians initially considered improving the fortress outright, but ended up doing nothing; by 1706, a list of its artillery contained only five guns of consequential size, and the castle was intended to be demolished. Whatever plans the Venetians had were interrupted by the Ottoman reconquest, but neither were any major repairs or improvements made by the Ottomans, though it was garrisoned with a token force. In April–June 1770, the area was temporarily held by the Russians, during the
Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74 and the Russian-inspired
Orlov Revolt in Greece. on
Sphacteria (middle), flanked by the attacks on Navarino (left) and Palaiokastro (right) in 1825 After the outbreak of the
Greek War of Independence in March 1821, the Greeks captured the New Navarino fortress and slaughtered its garrison on the first week of August 1821. The area remained in Greek hands until 1825, when
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt captured the old castle on 29 April, followed by New Navarino on 11 May. The Ottoman-Egyptian garrison remained there until it was handed over to the
French troops under General
Nicolas Joseph Maison in spring 1828. The French found the old castle essentially a ruin. ==References==