This vast, crumbling kastro, a great example of 15th-century Venetian military architecture, is built on a promontory south of Methoni. It's surrounded on three sides by the sea and separated from the mainland by a dry moat. Enter the inner keep through the mighty gateway to discover a Turkish bath, a cathedral, a house, a cistern and underground passages. A short causeway leads from the fortress to the diminutive octagonal Bourtzi fortress on an adjacent islet.
The medieval port town, which was located within the fortress walls, was the Venetians’ first and longest-held possession in the Peloponnese. It was also a stopover for pilgrims en route to the Holy Land.
