A working visit was carried out by Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, in the Castle of Koroniwhere a large technical work is being carried out to fix its rocky background, walls and bastions.
In order to deal with the major problem of the Castle of Koroni, which was showing intense erosion and major collapses on the slopes, which are adjacent to the sea, the Ministry of Culture, through the competent Directorate of Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monumentsimplements the project “Fixation of rocky slopes and restoration of rampart at Koroni Castle”, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Fund, with a total budget of €2,500,000.

“In the prefecture of Messinia, the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are implementing projects with a total budget of 25,000,000 euros from the NSRF – in collaboration with the Region of Peloponnese – and from the Recovery Fund from resources managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The castle of Koroni is one of the most important fortified monuments of the Venetian period in Greece and the only one of the Messinian fortresses that is still inhabited. Its restoration is a priority for the Ministry of Culture, with the criterion of addressing the serious structural problems of the monument, which are due to severe geotechnical problems and its proximity to the sea. With the completion of the project, the rescue of the castle walls is ensured and, in addition, another tour route is created for visitors, in its impressive fortifications and the coastal walls of the SW bastion. The project will be completed in July 2025, within its schedule, despite the great technical difficulties it presents,” said Lina Mendoni after the autopsy.

Lina Mendoni performed autopsy both on the south-west and on the north side of the walls, where scaffolding works have been carried out, the sealing of cracks in the rock masses, as well as the construction of the anchors, in order to deal with, in addition to the problems of the static adequacy of the walls and the slopes of the acropolis, the intense erosions and collapses on the slopes adjacent to the sea.
The physical object of the project, which is in full development, includes fixing the rocky slopes of the southern part of the Castle and restoring the SE bastion. In addition, it includes, as an immediate priority, the preparation of specialized geotechnical and static studies in the specific areas during the project, in order to enable the implementation of the removal of the risk.
An important part of the work concerns the restoration of the SW bastion of the castle, in order to make it accessible and to be used for cultural activities and educational programs by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Messinia.

Previous projects carried out on the monument by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

During the period 2002-2009, within the framework of the 3rd CSF, a project was implemented to consolidate and restore parts of the Castle, with a budget of €600,000, and subsequently, within the framework of the NSRF 2007-2013, works were carried out to consolidate the slopes and restore a large part of the southern walls of the Castle, with a total budget of €3,070,000.

Historical data

Koroni emerged as a strong commercial port with international influence, as together with the neighboring Methoni they constituted for centuries the “eyes” of Venice, at the intersection of the sea routes, between West and East. The castle is built in a key geographical position at the entrance of the Messinian gulf and its foundation probably dates back to the early Byzantine times. In 1205 it was taken over by the Franks, but very soon it came under the control of the Venetians, who in the following centuries turned it into a powerful seaside fortress. With the aim of adapting to the requirements of the new fortification brought about by the discovery of gunpowder, the Venetians engaged in permanent repairs and reinforcements of the walls, which would be continued later by the Ottomans (1500 – 1685). After the naval battle of Navarino (1827) the castle was handed over to the French expeditionary force of general Maison and a little later it fell into the hands of the liberated Greeks (1828). During World War II, it was used as a base for the Italo-German occupation forces.