27.01.2014

The 999 Steps at Palamidi

Anyone that has been to the beautiful county of Argolida and has visited Nafplio, has without doubt turned his head upwards to look at the fortress, Palamidi, that overlooks the city. Built by the Venetians at the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth, it is probably the most famous fortress in Greece for its imposing appearance, its ambitious architecture and because within its bastions the cell of the Greek hero of the revolution, Kolokotronis, can be located.

A tour of Palamidi is not complete if the visitor does not confront the equally known 999 steps, or at least that’s the number according to tradition. Most people probably prefer getting to the fortress using the road and climb down the steps when they leave. The truth is that the 999 steps are a myth, sustained because the number sounds magical. From the town to the main area of the fortress the steps are about 860 and end up being more than 1000 if someone reaches the top. These numbers, however, are not impressive. The 999 steps have been linked to occult practices, they have been mentioned by poets and novelists and found a place in songs. If someone has climbed them and counted them differently, then somewhere, somehow a mistake was made…

Peloponnese Hotels – AKS Porto Heli -AKS Hinitsa Bay