the towers of mani
The towers
of the Mani come in all shapes and sizes but can be divided The
War Tower These were freestanding towers within a village or complex and were designed purely for warfare. In 'peacetime' they were manned by sentries keeping a watch on the surrounding area but were the main defence in times of war or feuding. Then they were occupied by the 'guns' of the family or clan. They tended to be high and quite narrow and were not actually lived in except by the handful of men on sentry duty. The
Tower House These were war towers but with a house attached usually that of the 'capitanios' or head of the clan. There was usually access to the tower from within the house and also a second entrance to allow sentries and 'guns' access. The
Tower Dwelling
outer mani In some instances, the complexes were so strongly built and fortified that they resembled castles such as the fortresses at Trikotsova and Kitries. (Kitries was completely destroyed by an earthquake but an undated sketch by Wm. Gell shows how it once looked). In one case, Zarnata near Kambos, the complex was in fact a former castle with a massive curtain wall, occupied and extended by the Venetians, Turks and Maniats at various times. The 'kapetanoi' (captains) of the various smaller villages owed allegiance in turn to the most powerful regional family such as the Mourtzinos family based at Kardamyli, the Kapetanakis family of Kambos and Trikotsova and the Christeas family of Platsa.
There are also a few 'independent' towers outside villages owned by various families. A branch of the Kitrianis family from Exochori owned such a tower house near Vaidenitsa and the Mavrikos family owned a substantial tower dwelling near Malta, close to Zarnata castle. They still, however, owed allegiance to more powerful families. The independent tower house at Avia, between Kalamata and Kitries, was owned by the Kapetanakis family and served to watch and guard the coastal road between Kalamata and Kitries.
inner mani In Inner or “Mesa” Mani, the rest of the peninsula south of the Oitylo, the situation changes dramatically. Here the lack of fertile land, shortage of water and overcrowding led to the formation of family or clan strongholds to secure and defend whatever resources the clan had made its own. The Earl of Carnarvon travelled through the area in 1839 and observed, “A
Mainote noble, if he did not inherit, would build himself a tower
some times, it might be, with the money which he had amassed by hard
toil beyond the limits of his own country. When the tower was built,
his relatives flocked to him, and erected their own dwellings under
the shelter of his castle. These were his kindred and bore his name.
But others also trooped in, unconnected with him by family ties,
and these became his vassals, and gave him their allegiance in return
for his protection. Thus the whole clan was consolidated and bound
as one family to support the lord in all his feuds without regard
to the justice or injustice of the quarrel; and an insult or wrong
offered to any member of that clan, entailed on the wrongdoer a common
feud.” So the landscape is dotted with small villages and hamlets with a single tower to protect them such as at Agios Giorgios, Karynia and Piontes. In some places, as the clan grew in size and status, they added more towers and fortified dwellings to accommodate the extended family. Where this occurred in close proximity to other clan holdings, it often led to tension and then warfare the famous Mani feuds. Perhaps the most extreme example of this is at Vathia where the northern part of the village was held by an alliance of the Karabatiani and Kalidoniani families together with a smaller, weaker family, the Koutrigari. The Karabatiani had 20 houses and an olive press in two distinct groups; the Kalidoniani had 15 houses and a half built church towards the centre of the village. They also had a war tower that they owned jointly with the Karabatiani. The Koutrigari family had 6-7 houses and the church of Agios Nikolaos. Along the entire south side of the village were the houses of the opposing Michalakiani clan of 35 to 40 houses in five adjoining groups with a collective war tower facing the other alliance. When Leake passed close to Vathia in 1805 he recorded, “This village, my guides tell me, has been divided into two parties for the last 40 years, in which time they reckon that about 100 men have been killed.” There were similar village divisions at Lagia, Nyfi, Kita and others and similar murderous feuds. In some places, the family stronghold was self-contained within a fortified complex. Good examples of these can be found in Areopolis the Barelakos and Stylianos towers, the Phokas complex at Karyoupolis, the Sklavounakis complex at Pyrgos Dirou, the Arapakis complex at Charia and a series of Grigorakis clan towers in independent complexes running up the side of a hill at Ageranos.
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