Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
must change at Finikounda - if the timetable works, that is. The bus to Kalamata stops at
Harakopio, 4.5km from Koroni. For bus information call
27230 22230.
TOP OF CHAPTER
PylosΠύλος
POP 2760
Pylos (
pee
-loss), on the coast 51km southwest of Kalamata, presides over the southern
end of an immense bay. With its huge natural harbour almost enclosed by the Sfaktiria Is-
let, a delightful tree-shaded central square, two castles and surrounding pine-covered
hills, Pylos is one of the most picturesque towns in the Peloponnese.
From the bay on 20 October 1827, the British, French and Russian fleets, under the
command of Admiral Codrington, fired at point-blank range on Ibrahim Pasha's com-
bined Turkish, Egyptian and Tunisian fleet, sinking 53 ships and killing 6000 men, with
negligible losses on the Allies' side.
The attack was known as the Battle of Navarino (which is the town's former name)
and was decisive in the War of Independence, but it was not meant to have been a battle
at all. The Allied fleet wanted to achieve no more than to persuade Ibrahim Pasha and his
fleet to leave, but things got somewhat out of hand. George IV, on hearing the news, de-
scribed it as a 'deplorable misunderstanding'.
Sights & Activities
Neo Kastro
CASTLE
( 27230 22955; adult €3; 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun)
There are castles on each side of Nav-
arino Bay, but this is the more accessible of them, situated on the hilltop at the southern
edge of town, off the road to Methoni. It was built by the Turks in 1573 and later used as
a launching pad for the invasion of Crete. It remains in good condition, especially the
formidable surrounding walls. Within its walls are a citadel, a mosque converted into a
church and a courtyard surrounded by dungeons (used as a prison until the 1900s). At the
time of research, there were plans to move the town's small
archaeological museum
(
27230 22448; €2;
8am-3pm Tue-Sun)
to this site.
René Puaux Exhibition
MUSEUM
( 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun)
Recently relocated from the castle to a stunning red mansion,
this collection of pictures depicts the Battle of Navarino and was donated by René Puaux
