Pylos historically known under its Italian name Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit.It was the capital of the former Pylia Province. It is the main harbour on the Bay of Navarino. Nearby villages include Gialova, Pyla, Elaiofyto, Schinolakka, and Palaionero. The town of Pylos has 2,561 inhabitants, the municipal unit of Pylos 5,402 (2001).
Mycenean Pylos is an important archaeological site located on the western coast of the Peloponnese in Greece. The Bronze Age site, located at modern Epano Englianos some 9 km north-east of the bay, was first excavated by Carl Blegen in 1952. Blegen dubbed the remains of a large Mycenean palace excavated there the Palace of Nestor, after the Homeric ruler Nestor, who ruled over "Sandy Pylos" in the Iliad. Linear B tablets recovered from the site by Blegen clearly demonstrate that the site was called Pylos (Mycenaean Greek: Pulos, Linear B: Pu-ro) by its Mycenean inhabitants. The site of Mycenean Pylos was abandoned sometime after the 8th century BCE, and was apparently unknown in the Classical Period.
Old Pylos, the location of the town in Classical times, is to the north of the bay, see also Old Navarino castle.
The bay of Pylos was the site of two important naval battles:
• the Battle of Pylos, in 425 BC during the Peloponnesian War
• the Battle of Navarino, in 1827 during the Greek War of Independence
