Lagia is not only a traditional village of our region. Everyone who strolls around the narrow streets will understand the glory of the ancient times. With its towers and tower-houses, Lagia, at Inner Mani, was the center of the region of Tainaron.

There was the See of the Episcopacy and of the Municipality of Lagia (one of the 10 municipalities of Mani. Its emblem was the mythical Cerberus.

The organization of the traditional society in Lagia, as in the whole Mani, was in families (clan). Each one had its own tower, its buildings around, its church, and the great one had their own cemetery! The vendetta was something usual. Its characteristic is the big number of churches, written down per family:

Agia Barbara – Bougiouklakis

Agios Haralabos  – Despotisms

Agios Stylianos – Vavoulogiannis

Agios Ioannis – Papadogiorgis

Agios Nikolaos – Kalogerogiannis

Agia Faneromeni – Kalogerogiannis

Agia Triada – Vasilakeas

Agia Stavrosis –  Goulielmos

Agios Zaharias – Giannakodimas

Agios Konstantinos – Kouzigiannis

Agia Kyriaki – Bedrests

Agios Georgios – Galakos

Agios Nikolaos – Koutsilaios

Agios Dimitrios – Dekoulakos

Agios Spiridon – Giatrakos

Agios Grigorios – Petrounias

Agios Nikolaos – Ritsos

Agios Efstratios – Koutsilieris

Evangelistria – Georgariou

Agios Ioannis – Vougiouklakis

Agios Vasilios – Kalogerogiannis

Agios Efstratios – Gonellas

Agios Nikolaos – Tourlaftis

Apart these church there some others too: Agia Pelagia, Agiathekli, Aϊ Lemas, Aϊ Thanasis, Agia Triada and Agios Sotiras.

The village appears at the ancient times too. The karneatiki scripture indicates that the village was inhabited during the roman times. We also find it on 1570 at the Exhibition of Bardo (there, there is reference to many churches).

In Lagia, there are very old towers (as there are in Kita), the charectistics kolouri towers of Giannogona, Mavrokordatos, etc.

In the newest times Lagia is deserted. Today there is the ΤshadowΥ of the ancient glorious Lagia, without schools, without children. There are only few residents. In the summer time a lot of tourists visit the village and the settlements around Piontes, Korogonianika, Kainourgia Hora, Dimaristika, Kypriano, etc. That time there is the great problem of watering. The water supply of the region is the same since the Homers times!!! That means, from the water-tanks for rain water…..   Although here is the mother land of many important men (B. Mihaloliakos, Th. Kasimis, Elias Bougiouklakis, etc.)

Lagia is proud of the intellectuals and the artists who come from here. We make reference to  the historian – philosopher Anargyros Koutsilieris (writer of the History of Mani etc.), the graver P. Georgariou, the famous actress Aliki Vougiouklaki, the professor Elias Dekoulakos, …   the footballer M. Galakos.

Finally, here is the origin of Mih. Nikolarakos, the first elected Mayor of Mani and the last hero of Greece, Panagiotis Vlahakos (Imia Island 1996)

G.P.Dimakogiannis