Piada, Nea Epidaurus

History   

There are many different names for this site attested in western Portolan charts from the beginning of the 14th century: such as Preduia, Pedruia, Predena and Pednera, while in Greek equivalents it turns up with the name Piada, but also as Pigiada, Pegiada, Pyegata, Pleda and Pedroia.

Piada seems to have been founded during the Byzantine period in order to protect residents from sea-borne pirate attacks occurring at the time. At the time of conflict between the Byzantines and the Franks in the early 13th century, Piada probably served as a major port for the protection of the Byzantine Empire against the break-away Empire of Nicaea. After its capture by the Franks, the settlement belonged to the Castellany of Corinth. It then became part of the dowry of Bartholomée Chauderon, and was given in 1272 as a fief to the Venetian Nicolo Ghisi, of the House of Ghisi of the Duchy of the Archipelago. In 1342, Piada passed into the hands of Nicola Acciaioli, and between 1365 and 1394 was in the sovereignty of Nerio Acciaioli. After 1400, the broader region of Piada was held by the family of the Catalan princes of Aegina, the Caopena. However, in 1463 and 1467, as we learn from paintings of the castles surveyed, Piada had come to the Venetians, and was even mentioned in the Grimani census of 1700, as Pigiada.

In 1821, the Piada hosted the First National Assembly of the revolutionary Greek State (December 20, 1821), at which the first constitution of Greece was determined, and Greek flag was adopted as the national symbol.

Description

The castle was probably built in Byzantine times and added to in the years of the Frankish rule. It has an irregular shape, as it follows the edge of rock. The ground plan is elongated, with its long axis running EW: it is approximately 120 m long, with a width of between 15 and 20 m. The walls are vertical, with a thickness of about 0.70 m. They are made of roughly hewn stones of medium size, bound with mortar and include fragments of tile.

Walled fortification exists on just the south, west and east sides, while the north was left unwalled because of its natural defences provided by the steep-sided Vothyla ravine. The gate of the castle was in the east. On the south side are the remains of a horseshoe-shaped bastion(?) and two somewhat damaged quadrangular towers.

The central tower, of square plan, was set to the north-west, on the highest point of the hill. No more now survives than a floor that belonged to the cistern, located in the lowest part of the tower: it is coated by a hydraulic mortar (kourasani).

Inside the castle have survived some building remains, amongst which are the ruins of two single-roomed churches. To the west and in good condition is preserved a third, single-nave vaulted church, dedicated to Aghios Ioannis the Theologian. The church, according to the donor’s inscription, was treated to wall-paintings in 1710; it preserves a relief plaque of Middle Byzantine date built into the wall, with the date of 1708 later cut into it.