Cape Zonchio is the name given by the

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

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 The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

, 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 wit ...

. It was called Coryphasium ( grc, Κορυφάσιον).

Geography

The

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Joh ...

that is Cape Zonchio, is just north of the island of Sphacteria (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 Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life He was born on 1 Janu ...

(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 The naval Battle of Zonchio ( tr, Sapienza Deniz Muharebesi, also known as the Battle of Sapienza or the First Battle of Lepanto) took place on four separate days: 12, 20, 22, and 25 August 1499. It was a part of the Ottoman–Venetian War of ...

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