The Old Navarino castle is a 13th-century Frankish fortress near Pylos, Greece. It is one of two castles guarding the bay on which it sits; the other is the Ottoman-built New Navarino. It is frequently known simply as Palaiokastro or Paliokastro. It occupies the site of the Athenian fort at the 425 BC Battle of Pylos.
View of the ruins of the castle in 2009
Depiction of Old Navarino in 1688, by Vincenzo Coronelli
Depiction of Ibrahim Pasha's attack on Sphacteria (middle), flanked by the attacks on Navarino (left) and Palaiokastro (right) in 1825
Pylos, historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former Pylia Province. It is the main harbour on the Bay of Navarino. Nearby villages include Gialova, Pyla, Elaiofyto, Schinolakka, and Palaionero. The town of Pylos has 2,568 inhabitants, the municipal unit of Pylos 4,559 (2021). The municipal unit has an area of 143.911 km2.
The bay of Pylos
Griffin serving as Seal for the modern city of Pylos, which was found in a tomb near Pylos by Carl Blegen in 1963 (National Archaeological Museum of Athens)
Nestor's Palace
Warriors on a chariot. Fresco in Nestor's palace (LHIIIA/B period, around 1350 BC)
