Messinia / Laconia - The Messinian and Laconic Mani

Archaic, rough and sublime

The Peloponnese region, Messinia

People who have a need for unspoiled nature, warm hospitality and the permanence of a culture that is thousands of years old come together in the Mani. The outer Mani stretches through the Taygethos Mountains down to the bay of Itilon, where it becomes the laconic (inner) Mani. The center here is Areopolis with its new Platia and the beautiful old town further down towards the sea. Discover the small chapels and churches with old murals at the end of the narrow alleyways, most of which are still unlocked.

Further south, the landscape becomes rockier and the vegetation sparse. Prickly pear cacti and prickly oak bushes, fig trees and wild herbs. The caves of Dirou with their underground water labyrinth, tower villages and old fortifications and Byzantine churches. Past Gerolimenas with its tranquil promenade, the rocky coastline is interrupted only occasionally by small sandy/gravel bays and stretches down to the beautiful, long double bay of Marmaris.

Cape Matapan (Tainaron) makes the Mani, together with Sicily and the Strait of Gibraltar, Europe's southernmost point on the mainland.

Since time immemorial, legends and myths have surrounded this brute area of Greek soil

Meanwhile, the Mani continues to be dominated by its centuries-old towers, fortresses and defenses. Its small mountain villages nestle against the rugged rock, with prickly pears, olive trees and wild herbs covering the stony ground.

Today, many towers are abandoned, the long guns are silent, the jatans are well hidden and only a few women dressed in black are still aware of the long tradition of eternal remembrance.

In classical times, the history of Mani is closely linked to that of Sparta, whose myth later perished in an open field battle at Leutkra in 371 BC. In its remoteness and inaccessibility, this archaic piece of Greek land later offered the independent and freedom-loving Spartans a new home. Another sign of the ever-present individuality can be seen in Mani's late accession to Christianity in the late 10th century.

Under Corinth it was a late convert with its own diocese, so that a common explanation for the unusually high concentration of Byzantine churches in Messenia & Laconia from the 10th to 14th century is a "zeal for religious catch-up and an expression of the extreme lifestyle."

The Franks, Venetians and Ottomans were unable to conquer the desire for freedom of the Maniotes, who were used to fighting. Piracy, mercenarism and family feuds are an integral part of Mani's turbulent history.

When the last of the Turkish diplomats, Petro 'Bey Mavromichalis, led the revolution on March 17, 1821, the independent nationality of Greece was initiated. Mani, however, remained as wild and combative as ever into the 19th century.

When the left-wing and right-wing parties began to eradicate each other within Greece after the Second World War, the depopulation from which the Mani has not yet fully recovered began.

The EU's love of tradition and funding are currently helping to preserve and revive the long history of the "old heart" of Greece with international guests.

Here, where present and past merge into a unique blend of warm cordiality and cosmopolitanism, the foreigner is still a guest who is treated with curiosity and courtesy.

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Patrick Leigh Fermor (1915-2011) - The British travel writer, scholar & soldier. Partisan and also famous for his adventures on Crete during the Second World War, (the abduction of General Kreipp) especially for the abduction of the German military commander on the island, Fermor lived in Kardamyli for many years. The Fermor estate in the Kalamitsi valley can be visited by appointment. https://patrickleighfermor.org/tag/kardamyli/

Alexis Zorbas - birth name was Georgios, is the hero of the famous movie "Alexis Zorbas", with plot based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957). Zorbas, who was of Macedonian descent, lived in Mani and worked in the mines of Prastova, near Stoupa in Messinia. This place was the inspiration for Kazantzakis' work "Alexis Zorbas", which he also wrote here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QskFT7AaKH0   

Over the last 15 years, the natural stones of Taygethos have been used to create individual hostels, boutique hotels and guesthouses, upmarket hotels and smaller vacation resorts. Even Asclepius, a healer of antiquity, was well aware of the area due to its abundance of herbs.

Apart from the "green gold" of Messinia (olive oil) from the olive trees, which has a very high international status, Mani rarely meets the high EU agricultural standards. In many places, the landscape is just as wild and inaccessible as it was in the old days. (Internationally known varieties are the Kalamon (Kalamata olive) and the Koreneiki olives)

Vacation & Travel in the Mani - Messinia, Laconia

Many Greek residents left their homeland during the difficult times of the Greek Civil War and World War II to seek their fortune abroad. (Emigrated to Australia and the United States, mainly from the Peloponnese and Attica regions).

As a good businessman, the Greek has now been able to take care of his home villages and family estates financially again after returning home.

Together with support from the EU Culture Fund and under its strict building regulations, many old courtyards and tower buildings have been renovated, converted and/or rebuilt in keeping with tradition. The natural stone used exclusively for the outer walls harmonizes wonderfully with the mountains. WTG tip!The tower hotel Limeni Village in a breathtaking hillside location in the bay of Itilon.

The Mani is not the focus of the big "vacation machine". There are no big hotel bunkers, too few clubs or entertainment, and the loud entertainment industry with discos and amusement parks is absent.

Lovers of Greece and culture will find unspoilt stretches of coastline with bizarre rock formations alternating with sandy/pebble beaches. WTG tip! Foneas Beaches/Pandazi/Kalliopi/Delfinia/Ritsa

The small, secluded bays with the crystal-clear waters of the Messinian & Laconian Gulf offer carefree bathing fun for the whole family.

With its long sandy bays, water sports facilities and long beach promenade, Stoupa, which is lively in high season, is a "small" exception.

Outside the village, quiet Greek everyday life continues. There is time for a chat. Old, charismatic villages such as Kardamili, or traditional fishing communities such as Ag. Nikolaos and Trachilia characterize the typical image of "old" Greece.

With its old and still living traditions and customs, travelers will find a diverse and original piece of Greece in the Mani.

Old connecting paths and donkey trails offer attractive hiking and trekking routes through the wild macchia to small mountain villages across valleys, river courses and plateaus. WTG tip: Agia Sofia hike and Kambos Gorge. Or guided up to the 2022 meter high Prof. Ilias or Halasmenos.

The Byzantine heritage in the form of over 250 small churches and chapels in Laconia alone, mainly from the 11th/12th century. Wall paintings from the 17th/18th century enrich the old stone walls of the places of worship with their biblical motifs and Orthodox church history.

This standard of originality, natural beauty and variety of possible vacation activities make the Mani region a favorite among connoisseurs of Greece.