Messinia
Messinia General Information
The prefecture of Messinia, located to the south west of the Peloponnese is a region of magic and beauty. The capital town and main port of Messinia is Kalamata. From neighboring Ilia you can already feel the charm of that most cheerful and bountiful of places, Messinia. Euripides sung its praises, calling it "a land of fair fruit age and watered by innumerable streams, abounding in pasturage for cattle and sheep, being neither very wintry in the blasts of winter, nor yet made too hot by the chariot of Hellos".
Towns & Sights
Kalamata
is
dominated by the 13th century castle which was built above it. From the
castle, visitors are offered wonderful views towards the sea and sandy
beaches, as well as the green flourishing plains.
The famous Byzantine church
of the Virgin Ypapanti is located in the town. This church
is famous for the nuns who weave the famous Kalamata silk.
Another great spot to visit is the church of Agion Apostolon where
Mavromihalis declared the revolution. It’s also worth seeing the art
collections housed at the Municipal Gallery, the Archaeological Museum
of Messinia and the Folk Art Museum.
Kyparissia
is almost surrounded with olive groves and trees and mixed farming. On
the pine-covered hilltop above the city there is a small Byzantine
castle.
Peristera
is a place a little beyond the village of Raches (5 km. from
Kiparissia), where three beehive tombs have been excavated.
Pilos
is a pretty little town built up a hill on the south coast of the bay
of Navarino. Snow-white two-story houses with courtyards drenched in
flowers. The arcaded streets make you think you’ve been transported to
an island.
The Turko-Venetian fortress, known as Neokastro,
dominates the west side of town. One of the most attractive in the
Peloponnese, it is called that to distinguish it from the ancient
fortress to the southwest, named Paliokastro or Palionavarino.
The bay of Voldokilia
extends from the base of the old castle. A tranquil, carefree
sanctuary, the floor of the bay is covered with a thick layer of sand.
Methoni
lies in the southernmost tip of the west coast of the Peloponnese. In
the town are some enormous Venetian wells whose marble rims are
furrowed by the pressure of huge ropes over the centuries. You enter
the castle by crossing a massive bridge, impressed by the gigantic
walls, imposing bastions and monumental gates. To the south another
bridge unites the citadel with the Bourtzi, a fortified islet with
casemates and towers.
Finikounda
is a picturesque fishing village at the back of a bay. Caiques and
fishing boats are drawn up all along its sandy shore, while its tavern
as serve their fresh catch to little tables at the water’s edge. If
you're in to windsurfing, this is the place to be.
Koroni
has a medieval atmosphere which is imprinted in its old mansions, its
churches and its castle. Still, diaphanous water, sandy beaches and
opposite the little island of Venetiko with its enchanting beach. From
its hilltop site the Venetian citadel crowns the town. A proper eagle’s
nest, with thick walls and massive gates, it cuts a powerful and
magnificent figure. Below the fortress in a little palm grove is a
small building housing Koroni’s collection of historical and
archaeological artifacts.
Messinia History
Excavations at Pylos and Nichoria have revealed for Messinia's late
Bronze Age (1300s BC) a bureaucratic, agricultural kingdom ruled by the
wanax at Pylos. The Messinians spoke Mycenaean Greek, and worshipped
the Greek gods at local shrines.
The relative wealth of Messinia in fertile soil and favourable climate
attracted the expansionistic neighbouring Spartans. War broke out, it
was said, as a result of the murder of the Spartan king Teleclus by the
Messenians - which, in spite of the heroism of King Euphaes and his
successor Aristodemus ended in the subjection of Messenia to Sparta (c.
720 BC).
In 146 BC, the Messenians, together with the other states of Greece,
were brought directly under Roman sway by L. Mummius.
In 395 AD, the Roman Empire was split into the East and the Western
Roman Empire and Messinia was ruled by the East and was later known as
the Byzantine Empire, it was later invaded by the Slavs.
In the 1680s, the whole of Messinia was part of the Venetian Republic
before being ruled by the Ottomans in the 1730s. Messinia did not
became Greek until the Greek War of Independence of 1821 and several
months and years later was liberated by the Greeks. One of the most
famous battles was the Battle of Navarino which took place in the
middle of the war and defeated its Turkish fleets.
On Thursday July 26, 2007, the central part of the prefecture was
strucked by a small fire that consumed several forests, groves and
farms and ruined a part of its economy. Some houses were destroyed in
villages that are built in a valley. The fire lasted into July 28.
Nearly a month later, another fire ravaged the northeastern portion of
the prefecture and consumed villages in the Taygetos ranges. It lasted
from August 26 to August 27 and ruined many bushes, it did not affect
southwest into the GR-9A Junction due to low winds and cooler weather.
Firefighters along with airplanes, fire trucks and choppers battled the
blaze, most of its water came from Lake Taka.
