Kalamata: The Peloponnese: Messinia Prefecture

Modern Kalamata is a medium size city with an airport and a busy port. It faces the sea and has several high rise hotels which overlook it (B Class on down). Kalamata is the capital of the Nome of Messinia and doesn't boast much in the way of antiquities.

Still it seems a pretty decent sort of town and the people were friendly too! As a city it dates from the middle ages and is situated near the ancient city of Pherae mentioned by Homer.

In the early 13th century William de Champlitte divided the Peloponnese into 12 baronies and offered Kalamata to Geoffrey de Villehardouin.

His family built a big castle and had their family tomb installed. When the last of the family died in 1278, the strong fort was bitterly fought over by the Byzantines, Slavs and Turks until the Byzantines triumphed under the standard of Constantine Palaeologue. Castle top left.

The city was forced to pay tribute by the Turks in 1446 and taken by them in 1460. Under the relative peace instilled by the Turkish occupation the city grew rich from its fertile fields and the industry of the inhabitants. After a brief period of Venetian domination the city took part in the Orloff revolt in 1769 and was severely punished by the Turks.

Kalamata

Kalamata takes its name from the monastery of Our Lady of Kalamata, a small Byzantine church at the top of the city near the tourist pavilion and has a fine view over the Gulf of Messinia, the plain and nearby Mt. Taygetos.

Kalamata is the largest city of the Peloponnese, with a population of around 50,000. It is situated on the Messinian Gulf, extending 4km back from the sea and into the hills. It is a very metropolitan city and an attractive one (according to some; other disagree) as well as the main commercial center of the Peloponnese.

Twenty years have now passed since the devasting earthquake of early September 1986, which leveled the city and left 12,000 homeless (around half of the population). Perhaps the only consolation in this disaster was the small number of deaths: 20 people, attributable to the fact that the earthquake hit in the early evening when people were mostly outside (September being a hot month in Greece, and early evening the traditional time for a stroll or sitting on the veranda with a coffee after a nap). The ugly truth behind this tragedy was that the buildings (mostly built during the 1960s) had not been made earthquake proof as required by law, and that the contractors profited from the disaster. Considering the fact that the city is built over several subterranean streams, these unpunished crimes seem all the more shocking.

The town was rebuilt on the same grid plan from the 19th century. The old quarter at the foot of castle was badly damaged by the earthquake, but survived. Two decades later, the bazaar area and waterfront are again bustling with activity.

Kalamata is world renowned for its olives (the best export olives from Greece) which are sold both fresh and preserved, and other local specialties include figs, bananas, honey, sesame cakes and raki (the spirit also known in Greek as tsipouro, distilled from the grape pulp left from wine-making). Unfortunately, Kalamata is a very polluted city.

The Kastro was built by by Geoffrey Villehardouin in 1208 on the acropolis of ancient Pharai, and was held by this powerful French family for almost a century. It was captured by the Slavs in 1293, but won back again and passed to the French Duke of Athens in 1300. Florentines and Angevins held it until it passed to the Palaiologoi in 1425. Next came the Venetians, followed by the Turks, who blew up part of it in 1685 and the Venetians finished it off.

Under Turkish rule (which began in 1460), the town became wealthy on the products of the fertile plain. In 1769, Kalamata took part in the Orloff revolt, for which it was severely punished by the Turks. The city was the first to be freed during the Greek War of Independence and the first newspaper to be published on Greek soil was issued here in 1821 (the first year of the revolution). The remains of the Kastro consist of an outer 'enceinte', an inner redoubt and a keep. An amphitheater at its base houses summer concerts.

The Benaki Archaeological Museum (Tues-Sun, 8:30am-3pm; 2euros admission) houses a well labelled collection of Byzantine icons, relics of the War of Independence, tomb reliefs, sculptures and smaller items from the vicinity of the city, a Roman mosaic, stone tools and Neolithic pottery from sites at Malthi; Mycenean, proto Geometric and Geometric pottery, Mycenaean figurines from Karpofora, Achaean and Hellenistic pottery, late Classical, Hellenistic and Roman statuary, late Byzantine icons, folk embroidery.

The museum is housed in two old mansions belonging to the Benaki and Kyriakou familes and is near the church of Aghios Ioannis.

The Church of the Apostles, built by Andronicus Paleologue in 1317 has painting inside its dome (which is part of the modern church), and a ruined Frankish bell tower. The Messinian Senate was formed in this church. Kalamata's Cathedral was built in 1859, and has an icon allegedly by St. Luke, in its own museum, along with church vessels, gospels and vestments. A Historical and Folk Museum, run by the Association for the Propagation of Learning, houses weapons, household utensils, folk art and War of Independence paintings. The People's Library contains 40,000 volumes.

Below the kastro is the 18th century nunnery, which was the center of the silk-weaving industry, with both ancient and modern looms on display.

The city beach along Navarinou, a ten minute bus ride south from the city center, is not a beautiful one, and is often crowded. The harbor can be walked to in half an hour from the center, and there's a park with old steam engines and rolling stock at the open air Railway Museum.(free). Trains leave from Kalamata for Kyparissia.