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Náfplio (Ναύπλιον) is a town on the Peloponnese in Greece. The town was the capital of Greece from 1829 to 1834 and is the place where Capodistria, the first president of the modern Greek republic was assassinated.
 This picture shows the Bourzi Castle, taken from the harbour in Nafplio and including one of the local fishing boats. Names for Náfplio
The Greek original of the name of the town is Ναύπλιον. As is the case with many Greek words there are multiple Latin transliterations of the name. Currently, the most common English spelling is Náfplio, though often the accent is dropped to give Nafplio. Many sources, especially when treating the ancient city, refer to it by its Latin name of Nauplion. In other languages it is known variously as Nauplia, Navplion, Nauplio, Nafplion and Anapli. These names would have been current in English during the periods of Venetian and Ottoman domination.
Nafplio is also reffered to in Italian as "Napoli di Romana" ("Napoli of the Greeks," a conflation with Napoli, ancient Neapolis, in Italy. See the article on Naples, Italy for more information.
Geography
Nafplio is situated on the Argolic Gulf in the northeast Peloponnese. Most of the old town is on a peninsula jutting into the gulf; this peninsula forms a naturally protected bay that is enhanced by the addition of man-made mole (architecture).
History of Náfplio
The area surrounding Náfplio has been inhabited since ancient times though little sign of this remains within the town. The town has been a stronghold at several times in history,
The first of the visible fortification was built by the Byzantines. It was subsequently occupied by French crusaders, then in 1377 the Venetians arrived[1] (http://nafplion.tsx.org/) and, towards the end of the 15th century built the Castle of Bourzi. After this, the city was captured by the Turks, then when they finally returned in 1685 the Venetians built their final castle, which was in fact last major construction of the Venetian empire overseas.
During the war of independence with Turkey, Náfplio was considered a stronghold and was besieged for a whole year by Kolokotronis who, captured it and then later was imprisoned there for kidnapping. After independence Náfplio became the capital of the newly independent Greece from 1829 till 1834 after which the capital was moved to Athens. It was during this period of time, in 1831, that President John Capodistria was assassinated.
Economics
Náfplio is a port, with fishing and transport ongoing, although the primary source of local employment currently is tourism with two beaches on the other side of the peninsula from the main body of the town and a large amount of local accommodation.
Facts and figures
Most of these numbers have been sourced from [2] (http://www.gtp.gr/LocPage.asp?id=9069)
Altitude: 10 meters
Longitude: 22o 48' 26" E Latitude: 37o 33' 44" N
Population: (2001) 14,503
See also
Sources and links
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