Nafpaktos

It is named for Naupaktos (Ναύπακτος, Latinized Naupactus), an important Athenian naval station in the Peloponnesian war. As a strategically crucial possession controlling access to the Gulf of Corinth, Naupaktos changed hands many times during the Crusades and the Ottoman–Venetian Wars. It was under Venetian control in the 15th century, and came to be known by the Venetian form of its name, Lepanto. It fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1499 and was used as naval station by the Ottoman Navy in the 16th century, being the site of the decisive victory by the Holy League in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Except a brief period of Venetian control in 1687–1699, Lepanto remained under Ottoman control until Greek independence in 1829.

The castle of Nafpaktos owes its current form to the Venetians. Nafpaktos was of great strategic importance to Venice and during the first period of Venetian rule (1407-1499) they tried to protect it from the advancing Ottomans by building a strong castle.

The fortifications of Nafpaktos start from a hill to the northwest of the modern city and end at the port. It is the result of many different construction phases, from antiquity to Tourkokratia. And they are kept in rather good condition compared to other Greek castles of the same size.

The castle of Nafpaktos more or less occupies the place of the ancient fortification, which according to recent findings was larger than the medieval one. The city was originally owned by the Ozolian Locrians, in the ancient times. At around 455 BC, the people of Athens sent the Messenian refugees there and made it their main naval station in western Greece during the Peloponnesian war. Two key battles took place (thoroughly described by Thucydides) and in 404 BC it was returned to the Locrians. In 191 BC, the castle was yielded to the Romans.