Monemvasia is situated on a small island on the east cost of the Peloponnese in Laconia.
The rock is 300m tall and 1.8k long. It has been a formidable fortress since the tenth century. It was a Byzantine possesion until 1471 when it was sold to the Pope. It was then owned by both Venetians and the Ottoman empire until it became part of Greece in 1821.
The rock is divided into two areas, the citadel, which has been uninhabited since 1920, and the town itself, wich has been considerably and sympathetically restored.
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