Welcome to Nafpaktos! The Guardian of the Corinthian Gulf.

Make your dream come true! Travel to God's country, Greece, is a haven on earth, and the city of Nafpaktos is probably the nicest in Greece. The medieval Venetian fortress looms over the city, with two gorgeous beaches on both sides. In 1407, Nafpaktos was conquered by the Venetians and entered a period of embellishment and prosperity. Famous for the "Battle of Lepanto" (1571) between Europeans and Ottoman Turks. The Sculpture of Miguel Cervantes Saavedra makes it certainly worth a visit. Etoloakarnania region, central Greece, Europe. The Battle of Lepanto & The Famous One-Handed Soldier, Anemogiannis, was a 23-year-old sailor from the Ionian island of Paxos. In June 1821, a Greek fleet arrived to besiege Nafpaktos, trying to wrestle the strategic fortress away from Ottoman control. The Ottoman fleet was safely sheltered right inside the harbor. The battle was a massive clash between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire, featuring over 400 warships. Cervantes was suffering from a high fever that morning, but he refused to stay below deck, shouting that he would rather die for his God and his King than hide. He fought bravely on the ship Marquesa, taking two gunshot wounds to the chest and a third that permanently destroyed his left hand. He often joked later in life that he had "lost the use of the left hand for the greater glory of the right." The Hero with the Torch: Georgios Anemogiannis (1821) If you look slightly higher up on the western ramparts (at what is now called Anemogiannis' Bastion), you will see a second statue—a slender figure holding a fiery torch high in the air. This is Georgios Paxinos Anemogiannis, and his story takes place exactly 250 years after Cervantes, during the opening months of the Greek War of Independence in 1821. The Ultimate Sacrifice Under heavy gunfire from the castle walls and the warships, Anemogiannis steered the burning ship toward the harbor entrance. When the flames began to engulf the sails and the deck, his comrades in the escape boat shouted at him to jump into the sea to save himself. He refused to let go of the rudder, determined to make sure the ship struck its target, shouting back: "Brothers, is it not freedom that you seek? Let me be the first to go for freedom's sake!" He stayed with the ship until the flames forced him into the water. Unfortunately, the Ottoman forces managed to repel the fireship before it could destroy their fleet, and Anemogiannis was captured in the water. He was brought ashore and executed on the very battlements where his statue stands today, cementing his place as one of the earliest martyrs of the revolution. Both statues stand side by side in the evening light, ensuring that the heavy sacrifices made for this quiet, beautiful harbor are never forgotten by the summer visitors enjoying its peace today. ΦΑΝΑΡΙ @georgiosrigas4207 ​