A Road Trip in the Peloponnese
Second destination: Methoni
The Venetian Fortresses: Methoni and Koroni
Methoni and Koroni are two picturesque middle-sized cities that are only half an hour away from each other. Both cities have fortresses which were constructed by the Venetians and therefore they were called the “Eyes of Serene Republic” in the Mediterranean. The Venetians took the control of the region in 1124. The fortresses were built in order to secure the ports from invaders and also to protect their sea trade routes between Venice and Levant.
The Castle of Methoni
After having visited Pylos, we continued our road trip and we arrived to our second destination Methoni on the evening of the 15th of August. On the day of the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, we knew that everything would be closed including the castle. Therefore, we preferred to walked around the castle and discover the modern town of Methoni. The next day we returned to the Castle of Methoni. Methoni also known as “Modone” by the Venetians was fortified in the 4th century BC and remained under the Byzantine control until 13th century. The Castle of Methoni was built over the ancient walls by the Venetians in the 13th century on a rocky promontory.
The castle is impenetrable because it has a protective moat and its three sides are surrounded with high walls. Next to the gate, the Lion of St Marc, the symbol of Venice, is carved into the wall, and it still represents the Venetian history of the town. Anyone entering into the castle has to pass through the three gets to arrive to the interior of the castle. Once we were inside the massive walls, we visited the cathedral, the cisterns, the remains of the hamams, and the crumbling houses. On the south edge of the castle there is the Bourtzi which a fortified octagonal islet that is connected to the Sea Gate of the castle with a paved road. The Bourtzi was constructed in 1500 by the Ottomans and it was used as a prison and place for execution. The exploration of the castle took more than we thought. From the outside the castle looks imposing and once you get inside the walls you realize that the castle is not only a military center but also an administrative and commercial hub.
Methoni's Maps
This map dates from 1574 and it one of the earliest maps of Methoni, created by Giovanni Francesco Camocio. Camocio was an Italian cartographer, publisher and printer. He mostly worked on the views of fortifications, cities and depictions of battles between Christians and Ottomans. On the right bottom corner, Camocio has written down “Modon. The city in the province of Morea”. On the map we clearly see the fortifications, the mills outside of the fortifications and the town inside the walls. http://eng.travelogues.gr/item.php?view=45640
The following map was done by the famous Italian Franciscan cartographer and encyclopaedist Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (1650-1718). He traveled in Europe but mainly lived in Venice where he founded the first geographic society the “Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti”. This map dates from 1688 and it depicts clearly the plan of the castle and the establishments outside of the fortifications. The dark area on the right side of the fortification is the main gate and the three back-to-back doors are visible. The map depicts that on the south of the fortifications, where today’s town is located, there were arable fields and few settlements. On the left side of the map we clearly see the Bourtzi. The Broutzi is connected to the Sea Gate of the castle and the wall that do not exist today would have created the port of the castle. http://eng.travelogues.gr/item.php?view=48681
The Bourtzi
The Bourtzi is an octagonal sea fort that was built on the rocky island situated on the south of the castle. The Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, Pausanias described the rocky island as the “Mothon Rock”. The Venetians started to construction of the Bourtzi, it was later completed by the Ottomans and the walls surrounding the fort were added during the Second Venetian Rule. The structure served as a lighthouse, survey spot of the harbour and it was later used as a prison as well.
These pictures are from René Puaux (1878-1936) a French historian and a journalist in the Parisian newspaper “Le Temps”. Puaux made seven trips to Greece. His first journey to Greece was during the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and he continued to travel to Greece up until his death. The pictures of the castle of Methoni are from 1932. The first picture is the Bourtzi and in the picture we see that the wall that closed the port was already destroyed. The second picture is the view from the Bourtzi. The port was still used and we see the Greek fisher man standing on their boats. http://eng.travelogues.gr/item.php?view=40024
