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Zarnata castle is located close to Messenian Mani on the summit of a hill east of Kampos village. It was built on the ruins of an ancient acropolis. In 1427 it was given by Theodore II Palaiologos to his successor Constantine, Despot of Mistras. In 1460 the castle was captured by the Turks while in 1682 passed to the Venetians. It remained in Venetian hands until 1776 when it returned to the Byzantines. It consists of a large well-built polygonal outer enclosure with two round and four rectangular buttresses and two main gates. On the castle’s highest spot is a large three-storey tower with arched windows and ramparts typical of architecture in the Mani. The castle played a key role in the history of the modern Peloponnese and of the Mani while it was the seat of the metropolis during the 19th c. |
