Above the town of Petalidi in Messinia and close to the little village of Agia Sotira (old name: Pera), there is a small castle. It was probably a fort of the second Venetian period.

History

Perhaps this was Castello Leone, a Venetian castle recorded since 1409.

However, the type of construction (rifle holes, absence of crenelation) lead to the conclusion that it must have been built during the second Venetian period, i.e. around the end of the 17th century. If Castello Leone was really here, the Venetian fort has been built on its ruins.

The second Enetokratia during which the Venetians occupied the entire Peloponnese, lasted from 1686 until 1715. The Venetians built several inland forts during that period in anticipation of the Turkish land counterattack.

The Venetians had foreseen that it would be difficult to defend the whole of Moreas for long, but, apparently, they were hopping that they could keep some good territories like Pylia where were the cities of Koroni and Methoni which, for centuries, had been two of the most important castles of the Stato da Màr of the Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta. Moreover, since the 16th century, there was a new stronghold there, Niokastro.

The purpose of forts like Pera and the nearby Velika was to strengthen the peripheral defense of Pylia and to secure the food supply to the main Venetian fortress-cities from the rest of Messinia.

Sources