1. The archaeological finds show that the Rock was first inhabited around the second half of the 6th century AD by the inhabitants of Lacedemonia – the once well known Sparta.
2. The administration centre and the houses of the aristocrats of the area and their families occupied Ano Polis. There was not any form of commercial activity recorded, while the residents of Ano Polis were mainly officials and the garrison with their families.
The active part of the Castle Town was in Kato Polis, which included the port, along with the commercial centre of the town. Merchants, naval officers, craftsmen and farmers were the dwellers in Kato Polis.
3. In the middle of the 12th century, Kato Polis expanded outside the wall of the castle. It is that period of time, when ship navigation and commerce flourished.
4. In the 13th and 14th centuries- the golden era of Monemvasia- the town flourished greatly. It is estimated that it was at that period, when there were about 8,000 residencies on the Rock.
5. During the 14th century, Kato Polis settlement reached its peak, as the area between the eastern parts of the Rock and the bridge had already thrived.
6. Since the end of the 14th century and during the Venetian rule (1463-1540), Monemvasia suffered from geographical shrinkage and recession.
7. The Castle Town was successively occupied by the Venetians (1463-1540 and 1690-1715) and by the Ottomans (1540-1690 and 1715-1821). Since then its dominance in the sea reduced and its population decreased.
8. Therefore, the town’s prestige remained intact. In 1668, it is recorded that in Ano Polis, there were 500 big, white, well built houses with tiled roofs that looked like castles.
9. Therefore, in 1691, it is recorded that 700 residents occupied Kato Polis, while Ano Polis had just been evacuated.
10. In the first decade of the 19th century, around 600 Turkish families and 900 Greek families inhabited Monemvasia. Half of the Turkish families belonged to the garrison. Most of the Greek families lived in villages around Monemvasia and were either farmers or stockbreeders.
11. On the emancipation of Monemvasia in July 1821, the Turkish inhabitants of the town had to move to Asia Minor.
12. A great number of refugees resorted to Monemvasia after the revolution of 1830 in Crete, while the Castle Town “hosted” a surge of refugees from Asia Minor in 1922.
13. In 1921, Ano Polis was declared as an archaeological site.
14. Since the end of the 1940s, the settlement of Kato Polis had been gradually evacuated and a great number of its population moved to the settlement Gefyra.
15. In the middle of the 1960s, the population of the town rose to 100 inhabitants. It was the decade, when a progressive interest in visiting Monemvasia was more than apparent, as a lot of Monemvasia inhabitants wished to be exempted from their properties.
16. Recently and after quite a lot of decades, an amazing thing happened; the first birth was recorded in the Castle Town
