The city of Nafpaktos with its castle, its old Venetian port (the only surviving one in Mainland Greece), its Turkish mosques, such as the Fethiye Mosque that survives in its entirety and the old captain's houses of the chiefs of 1821, such as the Botsarai tower, it is a breath of fresh air and history. It is worth walking on the sea walls, touring its cobblestones, drinking a tsipouro with fresh fish in its traditional taverns and reflecting on the past and present at every step.

One of the greatest naval battles of all time. It took place on October 7, 1571 in the wider area of Nafpaktos (then Lepanto), with rivals the Christian states of the West and the Ottoman Empire. It ended the same day, with a triumphant victory of the West.

Ottoman rule in the Mediterranean after the conquest of Cyprus in 1571 fueled their expansionist dispositions to the west. The Christian states awoke, put aside their differences for a while and on the initiative of Pope Pius V formed on May 25, 1571 the "Holy Anti-Turkish Coalition" (Sacra Liga Antiturca). It consisted of Spain, Venice, Genoa, the Papal States, Savoy, Malta and other smaller cities on the Italian peninsula. It was decided to form a fleet and send it to the eastern Mediterranean.

Every year at the beginning of October, the municipality of Nafpaktos organizes a representation of the Naval Battle and a series of other honorary events in its honor.