colony · Greece and the Aegean

Venetian Nauplia

1388 CE – 1540 CE · capital Nauplia

Venetian-ruled port of Nauplia, called Napoli di Romania, a fortified base in the Argolid for a century and a half.

Origins

In 1388 Marie of Enghien, heiress of the Lordship of Argos and Nauplia, sold her lands to Venice. The Byzantine despot Theodore I seized Argos first, but returned it to Venice in 1394. Nauplia, which the Venetians called Napoli di Romania, became the centre of Venetian rule in the eastern Peloponnese.

Rule and society

Venetian officials governed from Nauplia, strengthening the walls of the Acronauplia and building the harbour fort of Bourtzi in 1471. The town traded grain, wine and silk and hosted Greek, Albanian and Italian communities; Albanian soldiers (stradioti) served Venice. Argos was lost to the Ottomans in 1463, leaving Nauplia an outpost surrounded by Ottoman territory.

Decline and legacy

After the Ottoman-Venetian war of 1537-1540, Venice surrendered Nauplia and Monemvasia to the Ottomans under the peace treaty of 1540. Venice returned in 1686 during the creation of the Venetian Morea.

Lineage

Lordship of Argos and Nauplia 1212 CE – 1388 CEVenetian Nauplia

Connections (2)

More states of Greece and the Aegean →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Venetian Nauplia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-nauplia
MLA
“Venetian Nauplia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-nauplia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Venetian Nauplia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-nauplia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Venetian Nauplia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-nauplia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻