In recent years, significant property οwnership changes  have taken place in many areas of Mani. The increase in the number of visitors to the area, particularly Europeans, has led to a general recognition of its special geographical and climatic characteristics. These visitors have a greater economic potential, and when they get acquainted with the area, some of them end up purchasing land for residential, and also often for business purposes. They usually purchase old houses with the particular architectural characteristics of our region or plots of land with a view of the open sea and the Taygetus mountain range. The construction of new houses and hotel developments increase year by year. Irrefutable proof of these trends is the great increase in the number of informal brokers who act as links between the demand for purchase and the availability of buildings and plots for sale…

This trend is leading to the strengthening of the finances of many of our fellow countrymen who own land. This support is important since many of the houses sold are not inhabited because the owners have moved to urban or semi-urban centres; also the land that is in greater demand due to the views it offers is in most cases barren and uncultivated. This strengthening of the financial resources of many of our compatriots enables them to meet many of their family needs that have been left unattended for a long time, to promote investment in the region or elsewhere, to finance their children’s studies or career choices and to provide them with all kinds of other options.

It is certain that, as changes of property ownership increase, the demographics of Mani are diversifying to a considerable extent. The new residents, who have settled in Mani seasonally or permanently, bring to the area elements of their own culture and habits. It is not a bad thing for locals to take on many of these elements, especially those coming from people of a higher level of culture. On the other hand, these new residents also adopt elements from our own culture, i.e., those characteristics that have long distinguished the Maniots. The transmission of the Greek language and the transfer of elements from the Maniot cultural background are of utmost importance. A coordinated and well-organised promotion of these elements and the formation of channels for their transfer by our local representatives, through well-planned programs promoted in individual regions, could contribute to a balanced exchange of cultural characteristics.

A few decades ago, the resale of Maniot land to outsiders was considered a mortal sin and a cause of public disapproval. Soon, however, the influx of money softened the opposition, and the new changes in demographics proceeded in a peaceful manner. In fact, history has witnessed many situations, in many eras, which led to the diversification of local human resources. This diversification resulted mainly in the preservation of the basic characteristics of Mani and the integration, over a few generations, of the new inhabitants into the local way of life. I will give examples of some of these phases that enriched the first Doric settlements with new human resources, as they have been recorded in history:

(a) the Roman rule left remnants of language and customs, as evidenced by the stone remains of statues and monuments

(b) the Byzantine period that followed was accompanied by significant movements of military and administrative personnel from Asia Minor, who brought their own customs to the area

(c) the numerous settlements of Slavic tribes in the mountainous area of the Taygetus initially, which over the centuries have moved over almost the entire geographical area, have left a strong genetic imprint, as can be seen from relevant biological research

(d) the peaceful settlement of Albanian tribes in the 15th century, which in turn were linguistically assimilated within a short period of time, contributed significantly, among other things, to the formation of the strong fighting ability of the inhabitants of our region and

(e) the effects on the language and habits of the local people have also been influenced by their contact with the conquerors of the Peloponnese at various times: the Franks in the 13th century, the Ottomans for about four centuries and the Venetians for thirty years in between.

The conclusions drawn from the brief analysis above are clear. Modern Mani needs to further strengthen the strong cultural and biological backgrounds of its population in order to integrate harmoniously the new inhabitants, who in turn can contribute to the upgrading of the area’s human resources. This, however, requires integrated long-term planning and people with the ability to implement it…

                                                                                                ΤΗΕ ΕDITORIAL BOARD

It is a generally accepted fact that the natural and cultural environment of Mani is very attractive. This is proven by the fact that many locals and foreigners choose Mani for their holidays. Tourism significantly improves the income of a large part of the permanent residents of our region, creating an atmosphere of rejuvenation, more so in the coastal areas, but also to a considerable extent in the areas further inland. All this despite the fact that the region’s main road network remains a disincentive for travellers. It it self-understood that its radical improvement should be a top priority in order to maintain and to boost the flow of visitors to the region. Unfortunately, this need has not been translated into systematic and effective interventions by local leaders and no significant measurable results have been produced in the last 30 years. Starting from the need to expand the visitor flow to our region, which is necessary for its revitalisation, we will now attempt to present a brief review of the issues related to road accessibility in Mani.

Until the First World War, transport to and from Mani was mainly done by sea, with boats running on petrol, departing from small coastal ports and moving passengers to the nearby commercial centres of Gytheio and Kalamata. Larger ships offered routes to further destinations, such as Piraeus.  In the following decades, after the publication of the 1955 Law on the Definition of the Provincial Roads and the 1956 Royal Decree on their designation by each prefecture (νομός), construction began, as an extension of the Sparta-Gytheio National Road, which had been in operation for many decades before (Gytheio was also the port of Sparta) and the Kalamata-Kambos Avias road which had been opened in the late 1930s. Because the roads were supposed to be built separately by each prefecture, many delays occurred. In Mani, it took until 1990 for the government of prime minister Tzannis Tzannetakis, οur compatriot, to finance the road linking Oitylo – Agios Nikon in order to join the two sections that had remained disconnected for many decades! Due to the rocky terrain for most of the routes, the limited means at that time and the meagre funding, the roads in Mani, even the main road axis, had to follow the winding routes of the pre-existing pedestrian and mule tracks.

Since the 1990s, for the reasons mentioned above, the number of visitors to our region began to increase, hesitantly at the beginning but with higher numbers year after year. Unmistakable proof of the interest in the region is the significant awards given to Mani from internationally recognised foreign tourism organisations. Improvements to the main road network of Mani in recent decades resulted in  getting visitors from the airport of Kalamata or from the end of the new Peloponnese motorway in Kalamata and Sparta to Mani in a more reasonable time. These are the main public works that have brought a small improvement in the travelling time on the main road axis of Mani:

a) on the western side, the construction of the new bridge at the Rintomo (Koskaraga) gorge in the 2000s; b) on the eastern side, the bypass of Gytheio with a new straight road to the western end of the Marathea – Mavrovouni plain in the 2000s and c) the reconstruction of two small sections on the road from Gytheio to Areopolis, in the area of Passava and Koutrafos in the following decade, which also slightly shortened the time of the road journey.

However, those projects that have been cancelled or delayed without ever reaching the final stage of funding for their implementation are more important. We list the main ones:

I) On the western side: a) in 2006, the failure to approve the completion, by the Prefectural Council of Messinia (Noμαρχιακό Συμβούλιο Μεσσηνίας), of the funded study that foresaw an almost straight route from the end of the new motorway in Kalamata to the bridge of Koskaraga and b) the 25-year delay in the completion of the study for the bypass Kambos – Stavropigio, which has not been funded yet.

II) On the eastern side: a) the study of remodelling the road route from Pyri (at the junction to Monemvasia and Mani) to Gytheio, which was announced 15 years ago by the Ministry of Public Works, is still in progress! and b) several improvements over the last three years to the main road axis are basically made on the traces of the first opening of the old pedestrian road – mule tracks. They certainly provide somewhat more safety for the travellers, however, they do not improve the travelling distance from the entrance to the Mani territory to specific areas.

The inability to promote the study and financing of radical improvements to the main road axis of Mani comes mainly from the lack of a unified course  of action by the local leaders who need to assert the rights of our region. We, from this position and during our personal interventions, assert that the United Mani, which we all support verbally, also means unified action, unified planning and unified assertion. This is the only way to ensure effectiveness in our claims, and to produce economic benefits that are spread throughout the geographical area of Mani, to its inhabitants and its property owners.