One of the reasons I came to this part of Greece was to visit Nicopolis. I love castles, all-things engineering, and of course history, especially from the middle-ages and earlier. Not far from this location on the coast, in 1AD, the Roman Navy had a large victory over the Navy of Anthony and Cleopatra, and to commemorate this victory Emperor Augustus decided to build a city. He encouraged Romans and Greeks to populate it, especially retired soldiers.
In Roman terms it was a large city, and it even had its own Amphitheatre – which is still standing. The city thrived for around 600 years but after too many raids by the Barbarians and the vandals it was decided to abandon the city. Yes, just to abandon it. Much of the marble, fittings and large stone was redistributed to other towns and the city faded into obscurity. Visiting the remains of the ancient city today, its hard to get your head around how big the city would have been in its heyday.
Just south of Preveza I also visited some local forts, some which are just abandoned and free to roam. I also visited the Agia Mavra Fortress. Established in the 1100’s, it protected the entrance to a large natural lagoon and over its history lived under many masters and saw some turbulent times. The venetians, the Ottomans and the British, before being handed back to Greece. There are a few small buildings to see inside, including a really well-presented museum as well as a beautiful Greek Orthodox chapel.
