The eleven years Nafplio served as Greece's capital (1823-1834) didn't just leave behind fortresses and official buildings — they left a string of "firsts" that few remember today. Some are well documented. One, the most famous of all, probably didn't happen quite the way it's told.

Nafplio is a city that carries more history than its size would suggest. Fewer than 15,000 residents, and yet it passed through mythical founders, Mycenaeans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, and ended up — if only for eleven years — the capital of all of Greece.

If you're wondering why everyone talks about Nafplio, the short answer is this: it was the first capital of modern Greece, it has three surviving Venetian fortresses, and its old town remains almost untouched by modern development.