Nafplion,
the first Capital of Greece, has 20,000 inhabitants and
is divided
into the old and the new town. The old town was built mainly in
the days of the governor Ioannis Capodistrias, at the beginning
of the 19th Century, but buildings still exist from the Venetian
Era. The new town is an ordinary Greek town with no special assets,
so stroll about the old, historical quarters with their neoclassical
buildings, charming squares and majestic fonts. Nafplion is the
capital of the prefecture and one of the loveliest towns in all
of Greece. The old city with its neoclassic houses, picturesque
streets, wooden balconies with cascading flowers, Turkish fountains,
Constitution (Syntagma) square with fascinating mosques and outdoor
cafe tables and tavernas (restaurants), is like a faire land.
Here,
after centuries of struggle, happiness has finally settled. You
feel like immersing yourself in its history, burrowing into its
pass The House of The Regent Mauer, The Military Academy that
operates as A Military Museum, The Army Ministry, The First High
school, The Parliament house, and finally Saint Spyridon's Church
where Kapodistrias, the first governor of Greece, was assassinated.
And
the fairy tale world continues, whether you climb up the 999 steps
to the Venetian fortress of Palamidi crowning the city, or wander
around the battlements of Acronafplia or pop over to the fortified
island, Bourtzi, afloat in the middle of the bay.
Nafplion
is full of the joy of life. It is the nobility and calm found
in Minoan frescoes. In Syntagma Square the Archaeological Museum,
with its findings from various periods and frescoes from Mycenae
and Assini, is housed in an imposing Venetian building, while
The Folk Art Museum on Vas. Alexandrou Street occupies a neoclassical
house.