Cape Zonchio is the name given by the Venetian cartographers to the cape north of Pylos (Navarino) (called Zonklon or Zonchio in Venetian) on the western coast of

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

on the Ionian Sea, in present-day

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It was called Coryphasium ( grc, Κορυφάσιον).

Geography

The headland that is Cape Zonchio, is just north of the island of

Sphacteria Sphacteria ( el, Σφακτηρία - ''Sfaktiria'') also known as Sphagia (Σφαγία) is a small island at the entrance to the bay of Pylos in the Peloponnese, Greece. It was the site of three battles: *the 425 BC Battle of Sphacteria in the ...

(Sfaktiria in modern Greek), to the northwest of Navarino Bay (Ormos Navarinou in modern Greek). On the eastern side of Coryphasium is the Lagoon of Osman Aga (Limín Dhivári). Frazer, James George (1898) "36.I. Cape Coryphasium – Pylus" "Commentary on Book IV. Messenia" ''Pausanias's Description of Greece: Commentary on books II-V: Corinth, Laconia, Messenia, Elis'' (translated with a commentary by James George Frazer) Macmillan, New York
pages 456–457
To the south is Sikia Channel, 220 feet wide and only 18 inches deep, separating Cape Zonchio from Sphacteria. To the west is the Ionian Sea, and to the north it is connected to the mainland by a sand spit on the eastern side of Voidokoilia Bay.

History

The Venetians had a fortress (castle) on the headland built upon an ancient Greek fortress, it is known as Palaiokastron. The naval Battle of Zonchio took place off of Cape Zonchio from 12 to 25 August 1499.Norwich, John J. (2003) ''A History of Venice'' Penguin, London, pages 383–385, , reprint of the 1977, 2 volume, edition, entitled ''Venice: the rise to empire'' and ''Venice: the greatness and the fall''

Notes

External links

NGA Chart 54286
Scale: 1;10,000, edition 4, 20 April 1996,

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of natio ...

Zonchio Pylos (, ; el, Πύλος), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has ...

Landforms of Messenia Landforms of Peloponnese (region) {{Peloponnese-geo-stub