Bourtzi

Bourtzi Review

The Bourtzi (or Castelli), Nafplion's pocket-size fortress, is a captivating presence on a speck of land in the middle of the harbor generously called St. Theodore's island. The Venetians built the Bourtzi as a single tower in 1471, and they enlarged it with a second tower and bastion when they recaptured Nafplion in 1686. Freedom fighters captured the Bourtzi during the War of Independence in 1822 and used the island to bombard the Turks defending the town. The new Greek government retreated to the Bourtzi in the unsettled times following the revolution; after 1865, the fortress was the residence of the town executioners, and from 1930 until 1970 it was run as a hotel. Boats leave on no fixed schedule from the eastern end of Akti Miaouli; the trip, including a chance to disembark at the Bourtzi, costs about €5.