Resumen de Ottoman fortification works at Koroni castle, Messenia, Greece(1500-1685)
Koroni (gr. Κορώνη, eng. Corone), a diachronically prominent city of southwestern Messenia region at the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, gained significant attention under Venetian rule from 13th century as an intermediate naval station for important trade routes of eastern Mediterranean. It consisted together with the neighbouring city of Methoni (gr. Μεθώνη, eng. Modon) the so called “eyes of the Republic in the East.” Following the Ottoman conquest by Sultan Bayezid II in 1500, Koroni became a strategically important ottoman city and the castle undergone new fortification and restoration works in order to host up-to-date artillery provisions. Ottomans constructed the eastern-front complex of Livadye-kalesi with round tower-bastions and a moat and implement reinforcements at the acropolis and at selective places of the northern outer section of the castle. A big part of these sophisticated and experimental works can be dated at the first half of 16th century, mainly based on comparative typological characteristics and sparse archival references. The current essay examines the ottoman fortification works at Koroni from 1500 till the reconquest of the castle in 1685 by the Venetians, who delivered rich archival records on the castle’s condition. The study presents the results of the Ph.D. research on Ottoman fortifications at Peloponnese during the first period of ottoman occupation and recent elements deriving from the writer’s involvement in restoration project of the Messenia Ephorate of Antiquities for Livadye complex.
