Mystras

Mani is, indeed, a land of many faces.

An Outdoor Museum of Architecture and the Gate to Hades

Hard as it may be to pinpoint the single place where the Greek War of Independence started in the spring of 1821, there seems to be a consensus according to which it all started in Areopoli. 

The Neoclassical Surprise

In Areopoli, you get the chance to explore the Laconian part of Mani. In Kardamili, one has the opportunity toget to know the Messenian part.

The event is one of particular importance for the social and cultural life of the city.

The monasteries of the area are located, in their majority, in mountainous areas, not unlike many of the older settlements in the region of Mani.

The Archaeological Museum of Sparti is the first purpose-built regional museum of Greece, in the sense that it was designed and constructed from scratch for the purpose of becoming a museum.

The part of Mani known as "EksoMeria" (=outer side) may belong to both regions of Messenia and Laconia, though the people inhabiting the numerous villages and the virtually invisible traditional settlements are the inhabitants of Mani at heart this peculiar region of exquisite beauty defines them.

Tucked away at an altitude of 240 metres, Itylo is the beating heart of Mani, still standing out as one of the most beautiful villages in the region.

At 45 kilometres from Kalamata, Stoupa is one of the most interesting seaside villages in the Messenian part of Mani.

The new beginning for the creation of everything that the visitor encounters in every step they take on the streets, squares and neighbourhoods of modern Sparta, goes back to 1834, when under Otto's order and with the establishment of the plans of the Bavarian architect Staumfert, the rejuvenated Hippodamian Plan of urban layout was implemented again, complying with the architectural tendencies of the developed European countries of the early 19th century.

Apart from being a source of life, a resource of gigantic significance and a rare aquatic habitat for the region of Lacedaemon for thousands of years, the River Evrotas is above all a symbol of historical and natural continuity between ancient Sparta and the modern municipality of Sparti.

Among the impressive mountains of the Greek mainland, all sung by the folk muse, equally admired and feared for their wild beauty and treacherous, steep cliffs, Taygetus stands out as the most awe-inspiring.

Welcome to the sacred mountain of Kronos, father of Zeus; indeed, the titan who represents the oldest phase of Greek prehistory was systematically worshipped in this alpine territory, even after the advent of the Olympian Gods.

Close to the western most part of continental Greece, yet not that far from the capital and many significant places of interest, Mani is one of the regions still preserving the impression of what the country used to look like, say, a century ago, in its purest traditional form. 

The Museum officially opened its doors to the public in 1952; today, it is housed at a two-storey building within the north courtyard of the Metropolis.

Only three such residences exist in the entire town, but the prosperity and good taste of the families they belonged to can be seen even in the sometimes scant remains of the original structures.