Those who participate in cultural events, particularly those centered on military events of the past, have noted how many speakers emphasise the phrase MANI, UNIFIED AND INDIVISIBLE. People who follow the actions of those who run public or semi-public institutions, however, find that they confine themselves entirely to a loose and fragmented approach to the issues of development and economic promotion of Mani. They forget that both the region’s distinctive geographical and climatic characteristics, as well as the Maniot epics of the War of Independence of 1821, point toward the need for a unified approach to the challenges of the modern era. Treating Mani as a unified entity is not merely an emotional aspiration; it is a practical necessity, if the complex challenges of our century are to be addressed effectively.

During the modern era, the loss of the region’s unified character first occurred administratively during the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas. The Province of Oitylo, in the Prefecture of Laconia, was effectively truncated, and the area extending from Verga to Agios Nikon was transferred to the Province of Kalamata in the Prefecture of Messinia. While Kalamata, with its continuous commercial and population growth, may have acted as a magnet for the Maniot economic activities, it had held that role ever since it first began to develop into an urban center five centuries ago. At that time, when this part of Mani was placed under the administration of Messinia, citizens’ dealings with the government offices lin Kalamata were made relatively easy by the petrol-powered passenger boats (βενζινόπλοια) that provided regular transportation; this explains the silent acceptance of the administrative division of Mani’s unified character. Over the many decades that have passed since then, with the profound shifts in transportation and especially with the development of digital methods of administrative service, this factor has largely been mitigated. At the same time, obstacles to development have emerged— obstacles arising from the close administrative attachment of sparsely populated areas to a rapidly growing urban center that absorbs the greater part of the state resources allocated to the prefecture in order to cover its own needs, leaving the periphery with enormous deficits in the area of public investment.

Within the planning framework of the European Union, regional development has long ranked among the highest priorities. In particular, initiatives promoting joint action in geographically and culturally homogeneous regions are frequently supported through dedicated funding programs—the so-called Community Initiatives (Kοινοτικές Πρωτοβουλίες) —which are incorporated into each new Community Support Framework programming period. Mani itself has recently benefitted from two such Community Initiatives, both of which recognised and included the region as a unified whole of natural landscapes and human settlements: a) Leader II – Mani in 1995 and b) the Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI) of Mani (Ολοκληρωμένες Χωρικές Επενδύσεις (ΟΧΕ) Μάνης)in 2018. By their very design, and indeed by their very name, these programs required an integrated approach to development in each of the areas selected, alongside the parallel aim of shaping lasting social and institutional structures. Even a superficial examination of their results leads to disappointing conclusions:  the local administrators largely adopted a narrow management approach, aimed primarily at absorbing the available funds, rather than maximising long-term developmental outcomes across the entire area—which, after all, had been selected precisely because of the unity of its landscape, climate, architecture and inhabitants.

As if the small number of permanent residents in our region were not enough of a disadvantage in securing development funding, we further weaken our position through internal divisions which, at best, result in each local authority showing little interest in what the others are doing. The autonomous growth of private investments in land and construction, together with the resulting improvement in household finances, appear to have diverted attention from the underlying reasons for these positive results. In other words, it is not yet understood that the unique Maniot natural environment—which combines the majestic Taygetos mountain range with jagged coastlines, together with a mild climate and the architectural monuments of our ancestors—is the main reason for attracting visitors and increasing local income. Nor has it been understood that in order to maintain and expand this growth, public investments are required in roads, water supply, sewage systems, and social services. Achieving these objectives, in turn, requires coordinated action based upon Mani’s unified character and development policies of an integrated nature. To accomplish this, local representatives must come together, formulate a common development strategy, and agree on shared proposals. They should then seek the support of the many politicians of Maniot descent who, in most cases, are themselves elected by invoking that very heritage and with the backing of voters of Maniot origin residing in the electoral districts in the Athens metropolitan area.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The funding of public road projects is based on the classification of roads into National, Prefectural (i.e., Regional, following the integration of Prefectures/Nομαρχίες into Regions/Περιφέρειες in 2010), and Municipal. Projects on the first category are undertaken by the technical services of the Ministry of Infrastructure, on the second by the corresponding services of the Regions, and on the third by the corresponding services of the Municipalities. Annual funding from the Public Investment Program is allocated to Regions and Municipalities according to established criteria, such as population, number of buildings, length of the road network and, in addition, for emergency events. These allocations are made as a lump-sum, which are subsequently distributed by the corresponding collective bodies of local government. These bodies determine the specific technical projects to be funded, prepare the necessary technical and economic studies, tender the projects and supervise their implementation. The question that arises is: by what criteria are these allocations made, or, in the event that there are no legislated criteria, what informal system of weighing factors —similar to those used by central government in making allocations— is applied in determining final project selections and funding amounts? Unfortunately, no transparent system of coefficients leading to fair and stable funding criteria for each area (Περιφερειακή Ενότητα, Δήμος ή Δημοτική Κοινότητα) has ever been established.

There is no dispute that members of municipal and regional governing bodies have been elected by the public and therefore possess democratic legitimacy. However, this mandate is general in nature and does not define the framework within which each elected official should vote on individual funding decisions. The population density of individual areas within each Region and Municipality is a decisive factor in electing their representatives to collective bodies, resulting in urban areas being overrepresented at the expense of rural and sparsely populated regions. This imbalance inevitably influences decisions regarding which projects are included in technical programs and therefore receive funding through the Public Investment Program.

Another case of clear injustice is the conversion of earmarked credits for specific projects into unallocated ones and their ultimate redirection.These procedures work as follows: If representatives of certain areas convince the central administration that the general allocation rules determine the funding of a specific project in their region, a specialized decision is issued and forwarded to the relevant local government authority for implementation (project’s inclusion in the annual technical program, followed by the preparation of studies, tendering and construction). If the project fails to proceed for any reason, the allocated funds should normally be carried forward and recorded as income in the following year’s budget and technical program. In many cases, however, the designated funding is effectively… “forgotten”, reappearing as unspecified revenue and ultimately being used for other projects. A characteristic example in Mani is the upgrading of the Milea–Panagia Giatrissa road. Since this road has been classified as a Provincial Road since 1955, the competent ministry was obligated to finance its reconstruction. More than €3 million was allocated to the project beginning in 2013, yet thirteen years later it still has not been completed. Any well-intentioned person wonders: what happened to this funding?

Addressing the injustices created by the unequal distribution of Public Investment Program resources, which disproportionately disadvantages rural areas with small populations, depends largely on the efforts of local elected representatives and local cultural associations. Achieving a fairer balance requires determination, coordinated action, and sustained advocacy. It also requires documenting cases of unequal treatment, bringing them to public attention through today’s diverse media landscape, as well as coordinated representations to Members of Parliament and government ministers.

In particular, in our region, Mani, with its intense tourist development, the gap between private and public investment is becoming increasingly evident. If local representatives limit their activities to routine administrative matters, the region’s long-term development will inevitably suffer, leading to reduced economic opportunities and employment. It is time for everyone who cares about our region to recognize and address this danger.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

In order to avoid misunderstandings regarding the content that will be presented below, we will attempt to provide definitions for the conceptually dense notions of the title:

Mores and customs (ήθη και έθιμα) constitute the core of long-standing tradition, combining social values and religious rituals.

Morality (ethics, ηθική) is a branch of philosophy that seeks to determine which human actions are socially acceptable and right, and which are improper and wrong.

Mores and customs are the long-standing practices that emerge from the way of life and functioning of small or large social groups with a cohesive ethnic basis. Τhe formation of customs and traditions is strongly influenced by the economic conditions of living, the terms of production, and the broader productive process, particularly in rural areas where, in earlier periods, the largest population of each region resided. A significant factor in the shaping of customs and traditions was, over a long period, how social groups of different origins either coexist or clash.

These conditions also exerted a decisive influence on the formation of strong rules of law that strictly governed both interpersonal and interfamily relations. A characteristic case of long-established rules of this kind is the custom of blood feud (vendetta), which functioned as a distinctive local rule of law. This custom, whose origins go back to archaic times, assumed an intense and rigid form in geographically enclosed areas that had limited contact with neighbouring population groups. Mani constitutes a characteristic case of the application of vendetta, which, carrying elements from ancient Sparta in combination with the habits of groups that over the centuries settled in the region, survived not only until the establishment of the modern Greek state but also continued, in a milder form, for another 150 years. A characteristic confirmation of the conditions that prevailed in Mani regarding the administration of justice is the Circular of Instructions issued by Ioannis Kapodistrias to the judges of the Special Courts he had established for the adjudication of criminal cases in Mani. He advised them to take into account the deep-rooted social customs that had long prevailed in the area, while also applying the new general rules governing the administration of state law, after carefully selecting the lay members of the criminal courts. The long-term persistence of these customary perceptions is confirmed once again by examining the first issue of our newspaper “Maniot Solidarity” in April 1999, in which one of the aims that we set was our contribution to the abolition of the application of vendetta, which was still troubling the small Maniot societies at that time.

The transition from patrilineal communities to broader social coalitions, with the strengthening of their nationally defined characteristics, constituted a critical factor for the reform of many customs, whose continuation had long shaped the rules of the administration of justice. With the establishment of nation-states, and the development of dense settlement structures to meet modern modes of production, old habits lost a large part of their violent characteristics, retaining mainly the elements of cultural heritage that recalled to simpler ways of life in the countryside, where they also find opportunities for their reproduction, offering qualitative characteristics to modern life, which focuses mainly on quantity.

This long course of reform of inherited customs and traditions gradually shaped the foundation of Morality (Hθική), as it has reached our days through the decisive influence of Philosophy. Of particular significance to the life of modern societies is the contribution of moral rules to the formation and application of Law. The strong consideration of broader social perceptions, through the application of ethical principles in the administration of justice, strengthens the bond between the individual with society and broadens the common framework of coexistence within each community.

This long-term course of transition from customs and traditions, which began in archaic societies and was reinforced in many closed and geographically isolated small communities, culminates in our time in the formation of modern Ethics. This evolution, among other things, also contributes to the qualitative upgrading of all institutions, which are being undermined by the intense individualistic tendency that lies at the heart of the economic system dominant on our planet. The application of rules determined by Ethics to the way of functioning of Politics, which directs this economic system, could constitute another positive element in restoring a more balanced relationship between quantity and quality – a relationship that has been disturbed by the desperate pursuit of Ethics, and stands as the defining characteristic of our era.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Historical anniversaries are critical factors for encouraging a re-examination of the past. By powerfully reintroducing these events into the memory of people today, we aim to draw necessary lessons for the future of those who are the biological and national heirs of the original participants. The organisation of these anniversary events—when enriched with essential elements that show both continuity and adaptation to modern changes—helps cultivate a sense of timelessness in the consciousness of today’s audience.

More than 200 years have passed since the outbreak of the Revolution of 1821, which was subsequently rewarded with the establishment of the modern Greek state. We are already a few months away from the completion of 200 years since the three Maniot victories (at Verga, at Diros, and at Polyaravos) over the Egyptian troops, when they attempted to invade Mani and conquer it, with the aim of a) their complete domination over the Peloponnese, b) the establishment therein of an Egyptian administration as had been agreed with the Sultan, and ultimately c) the suppression of the long-standing effort for the awakening and rebirth of the Greek Nation.

The bicentennial commemorative events for the three Maniot victories over the Egyptian forces, represent an ideal opportunity to highlight their importance and to cultivate, through works and actions, elements of timelessness that remind of their significance for our entire nation and serve as instructive models of patriotism for the younger generations.The qualitative upgrading of the sites where the battles were conducted, and the provision of easy accessibility to them, constitute elementary obligations of the state, regional, and municipal administrations responsible for the three areas. The parallel establishment of annual athletic and cultural events centered, in rotation, on the three areas of the battles, would constitute an element of continuous rekindling of historical memory and of the messages it generates. The production of digital material connected with the battles and the victories of the Maniot arms, and the creation of free access to it through widely accessible online platforms, would constitute a strong contribution to the desired timelessness of historical memory. A year ago, in view of the bicentenary, MANIOT SOLIDARITY, the newspaper and the association that publishes it, considered it appropriate to underline the obligation of all of us, and especially of those responsible for the upgrading of the celebratory events for the most critical of the three battles, the battle of Polyaravos. We think that the road connection of the admittedly difficult spot, 300 meters up to the settlement where the battle took place, and the restoration of the damages to the parish church of Saints Constantine and Helen, constitute a due obligation to our ancestors who fought and saved Mani, and perhaps the whole Peloponnese, from Egyptian conquest. In addition, the other two battle sites also require substantial upgrades.

The expansion of the surface area and the qualitative upgrading of the site where the anniversary events are held at Verga, combined with the possibility of highlighting and making accessible the wall where the Maniot warriors entrenched themselves and where the decisive battle took place, constitute our elementary obligations.

Regarding Diros, the relocation of the events to the main site of the decisive battle, to the bay where a statue of the scythe-bearing Maniate woman was placed years ago—the gift of a compatriot—would represent a better approach to and reconstitution of the historical memory of the events of the battle against the Egyptian forces. These troops initially disembarked there and eventually, being pursued, attempted to re-embark on their ships in order to be saved.

On the website of our association: www.maniatiki.gr, a special section has been created with the title: “Where and how will the bicentennial of the Μaniot victories of 1826 (Verga, Diros, Polyaravos) will be celebrated?” [https://maniatiki.gr/wp/?cat=442]. By opening it, visitors to the website are presented with our views and our interventions to those responsible, with a focus on matters regarding Polyaravos. We hope that our proposals will be taken into account by the recipients of the letters during the few months that remain until the completion of the bicentennial of these battles.

In our era, an era dominated by the glorification of the image and of the two-dimensional situations it produces, our own approach to historical memory may perhaps seem out of place. We wish the historical memory to take on three-dimensional as well as intangible forms, closely linked to space as well as to emotion, which will not be just for one-time or for personal exploitation, but will permeate us, imprinting strong messages in the psyche (θυμικόν), which in turn will be transferred into our way of life. However, this is our way of thinking and the attempt to express it through the columns of MANIOT SOLIDARITY, in its printed and digital form, for 28 years… 

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

It was April 1999 when the first issue of our newspaper ΜΑΝΙΑΤΙΚΗ ΑΛΛΗΛΕΓΓΥΗ (MANIOT SOLIDARITY) was published. Timidly and through trial and error, we tried to find the path that would give shape to the impulse which led us to this form of expression. Our vision for a Mani of the future worthy of our heroic ancestors was particularly strong. Thus, the many diverse obstacles were gradually overcome — starting with technical matters, passing through financial difficulties, and culminating in the challenges that required rapid adaptation to modern printing technology. Year by year we acquired the necessary know-how which, combined with the personal processing of source material, resulted in the form and content of the newspaper you now hold in your hands.

Our main objective began with the idea that Mani is not just a place, but a way of life. It is a way of life that those of us from an older generation acquired through the experiences of our upbringing; we carry it in our genes and pass it on to our descendants. This way of life is recorded in every issue of this publication, accumulating issue by issue, condensed into our book publications, projected on our website, and digitally archived so that it remains available for future generations. This content also contributes to the harmonious integration into our land of the many new residents who have settled in our villages in recent decades, just as it happened during the great population integrations in the Mani region in earlier centuries.

On the occasion of entering the 28th year of publication, we consider it appropriate to analyse in greater detail the structure and content of each issue of our newspaper.

The smooth transition from the title to the content is achieved through the lead article on the first page. We ensure that its content incorporates elements and nuances of SOLIDARITY in analyses of ideas and events relating to broader social issues appearing in current affairs. The first page is complemented by news closely connected to our region, its developmental progress, or the major milestones of its historical journey.

The topics featured on pages 2, 3, 4 and 10 highlight elements from the history, folklore, nature and culture of our region, as these have been recorded in the past and continue to evolve to the present day. Special emphasis is given to the “Farewell” of the first Maniot scholar and enlightener Nikitas Nifakis, which is featured consistently in the masthead of page 3 as a timeless mandate for all of us, and his reflections on our region are expanded through the presentation of his verse compositions in successive issues.

Pages 6 and 7 have been dedicated to showcasing developmental projects being promoted in our wider region, identifying the manner of their implementation and the weaknesses that emerge during the course of their realisation until completion. Pages 5 and 12 cover opinion articles that also echo the ideas of SOLIDARITY, as these relate to current events and situations. Pages 9 and 11 are dedicated to recording brief news items concerning our wider region, as they appear in the current affairs of each month. As our perceptive readers will have noticed, police reports have been entirely absent even from the very first issue of the publication, because material of this nature does not align with the aims of our newspaper and our association. Believing that the printed word remains a quiet reminder that thought requires time and responsibility and that information requires verification, we maintain this editorial approach which we have followed for 27 years.

On our website www.maniatiki.gr a selected portion of the material from our printed newspaper is uploaded each month, while important texts with historical-geographical information about Mani and the settlements of its three large regions have been included. The publication of the main editorials in English facilitates compatriots (descendants of second and third generation immigrants) in becoming acquainted with the region of their family’s origin, as well as foreign residents who have settled in our area. The inclusion of the listings entrusted to us by local professionals for the printed issue increases the visibility of their businesses and activities.

We believe that a strong impetus for advancing the goals of our non-profit association that publishes the newspaper ΜΑΝΙΑΤΙΚΗ ΑΛΛΕΛΕΓΓΥΗ also arises from the publication of books and illustrated volumes about our region. We note in particular the following four titles: PAGES FROM THE HISTORY OF MANI (in two volumes), TRAVEL ITINERARIES IN MANI (in two volumes), MANI IN FOREIGN-LANGUAGE BIBLIOGRAPHYand MANI: THE TIMELESS EVOLUTION OF 10 MAJOR REGIONS.

On the occasion of this anniversary, supported by the trust and loyalty of our subscribers, we wish to express our determination to continue this work for as long as our physical and intellectual capacities permit. 

                                                                                                            THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The pre-election period constitutes a “sensitive” time for the political system. The pursuit of a majority result that will lead to governmental power causes the parties to give a “sympathetic ear” to demands of local societies, as these are presented through the documented petitions of their representatives. “Good conductors” for the transmission of these demands are the parliamentary candidates of each party. They act as go-betweens, bringing local demands to party leadership and getting commitments to address them. By doing this, they hope that voters will reward them with their vote and that they will be among their party’s elective representatives. Local societies that have brought forward worthy representatives in local government bodies—municipalities and regions—as well as in other collective expressions of their areas, plan their interventions jointly, draft well-documented proposals, and schedule meetings with political figures, party representatives, and parliamentary candidates. The final success is securing acceptance of their proposals emerges as a result of the organisation and documentation that has preceded it.

For Mani, which constitutes a single geophysical space, one that encompasses approximately the territorial areas of its two municipalities (δήμοι), it emerges naturally that the road to success of its developmental proposals passes through the formation of a common framework of demands and the procedures for promoting it to the parties and the candidates. This is dictated both by the interests and the needs of residents and property owners in the area, who see its economic development and the strengthening of their household budgets through the generalised benefits that will be generated by the public investment program. It is a widely acknowledged fact that public works in the area lag far behind private investments, and the need to bridge the gap between them presents itself as a just demand and a social necessity.

When social needs are visible, representatives of social bodies have a duty to rise to the occasion and to overcome personal entanglements, selfish or inherited suspicions, and exaggerated projections of grandeur—usually nonexistent. The lessons of our local history, and their projection onto the present horizon, guide us as to how we should act and what we should avoid. It is worth recalling the great achievements of Maniot arms in the liberation struggles of 1821, when local leaders acted with unity and cooperation, as well as the ill fate—for them and for our region—whose echoes reach our own days, created by their divisions and rivalries. We may mention, briefly, the conflict between the Mavromichalis and Mourtzinos families, which weakened the families themselves and brought lasting disrepute upon our land through misguided and traumatic actions caused by their lack of cooperation.

The unified Maniot territory urgently calls for the creation of unified proposals and their joint, forceful promotion toward the political system during this pre-election period. No one needs to look at a map to recognise the necessity of a radical reconstruction of Mani’s central axis, what the old Maniots called the “Maniot road.” The new highway that reaches Kalamata and Sparta speaks for itself as to the need for its completion through the upgrading of the remaining road section so as to connect its two ends with a road of reliable quality. Until now, the presentation of related demands over the past three decades has been countered with the argument that Mani’s rocky terrain requires very high levels of funding for radical interventions along this axis. Nevertheless, wherever and whenever individuals were active and mobile within the political system, significant interventions were advanced on certain sections of it. We note the high-budget interventions on three sections of the Gytheio–Areopoli route, despite the serious objections we have raised regarding budget overruns and the overcharging of supplementary works, which constitute the evil demon of public projects. We also note the failure to advance substantial interventions over the past thirty years —except for the new Koskaraga bridge— on the Kalamata–Areopoli section, with the Kampos–Stavropigio bypass having been under study for thirty years, consuming budgets that approach the amount required to execute the project itself!

It appears that the fragmented pursuit of funding —separately by the municipalities, at the level of Messinia by one and at the level of Laconia by the other—has produced this reduced effectiveness. Mani’s administrative division between two prefectures (νομοί) ninety years ago, and the replacement of maritime transport links with overland road openings seventy years ago, have given strong impetus to distancing ourselves from the perception of Mani’s land as a unified whole. This approach, however, is superficial and opportunistic, as contemporary realities confirm. We note, for example, the obvious: the strong tourism asset of the Diros caves could be accessed quickly and easily from the airport in Kalamata via a reliable road. The same holds true for the Kalamata market of 60.000 inhabitants, serving the households and businesses of all Mani’s regions.

It is not the intention of our newspaper, nor of the association that publishes it, to issue admonitions to the elected representatives of Mani’s local communities. Our sole aim is to express the need for self-awareness that Mani’s history imposes upon the psyche of us all. Let our representatives note this view and utilise jointly the opportunity for Maniot affairs that the prolonged pre-election period in which we find ourselves has created.     

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

This year marks 200 years since the three victorious battles – at Verga, at Diros, and at Polyaravos – fought by Maniot forces against the Turco-Egyptian troops, when they attempted to invade Mani from three different directions and conquer it. The heroic resistance of our ancestors, organised into combat groups, but also including hastily armed elderly men and women, prevented these invasions into Mani and overturned the intentions of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt for the complete occupation of the Peloponnese and permanent dominance over its land, as had been agreed with the Turkish Sultan. Given that bicentenaries of major historical events constitute anniversaries of a special character, and are therefore celebrated with grandeur throughout the world, the question arises: how do the authorities in charge (the state administration, the regional administration and the local government) intend to organise the 200th anniversary of the Maniot Victory Battles of 1826 and, above all: what specific weight do the two municipalities (δήμοι) of Mani —which represent the only organised collective expressions of the Maniοt region during the modern era— give to this bicentennial in their priorities?  Will this special commemoration once again be an opportunity for routine public events, or will it become an opportunity for reflection and a strong push regarding those substantive actions that we should have implemented, so that those battlefield epics of our ancestors might serve as a constant point of departure for reconsideration and as a continuous transmission of a timeless message to all, about how freedom is safeguarded?

We, the non-profit association MANIOT SOLIDARITY and the monthly newspaper it publishes, within our limited means, have started actions very early, since the summer of 2025, with the aim of raising awareness among the authorities in charge, starting with the most neglected anniversary, that of the Battle of Polyaravos, which for many years has been celebrated far from the site of the battle, on the opposite hill and at the small chapel of Panagia, while the parish church of the settlement is in danger of collapse! (The letters we sent to the MPs of Laconia, to the Mayor of East Mani, and to the Bishop of Mani are posted on our website www.maniatiki.gr, in a special folder entitled: 200 YEARS SINCE THE MANIOT VICTORIES OF 1826. In the same folder we will also include any further awareness-raising actions we undertake). However, it is not only necessary to highlight the site of the Battle of Polyaravos, through a) the opening of a road to the settlement where the three-day battle was fought, b) the repair of its parish church, and c) the upgrading of the celebration of Polyaravos battle to one of regional character; it is also necessary to carry out projects to highlight the sites of the corresponding battles at Diros and Verga.

On the seashore of Diros, at the site of the decisive battle, a magnificent monument was erected 20 years ago, created following a donation by the Mitsakos merchant family and materialised under the care of Professor Grigoris Skalkeas. The placement of the monument signifies an obligation to transfer the festive events from the square of Pyrgos to the seashore beyond the Diros Caves, following the preparation of a suitable area. An important step in this direction has been taken with the establishment of a “performance” reenacting the Battle of Diros against the landing forces of Ibrahim, which was established a few years ago and takes place on the afternoon of the eve of each anniversary. But this is only a first step toward transferring the site of the main festive events to the area where the main battle took place.

Anyone who participates in the annual commemorative events for the Battle of Verga feels uncomfortable due to the disproportion between the height of the statue of the Maniot warrior and the narrowness of the space it overshadows. We made an earlier proposal to the then Mayor of Kalamata to widen the space where the events are held, at least through the preparation of a small technical study and the implementation of a minor technical project to cover the neighbouring small stream and thus expand the area for the festive events. It was received positively, but did not proceed to implementation. Characteristic, moreover, is the fact that, in order for the urban planning study of the settlement of Verga (promoted by the Municipality of Kalamata for 30 years now) to be completed, the Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας), during the preparation phase of the relevant Presidential Decree, recently made an observation that the Wall of Verga, from which the armed Maniots confronted the Egyptian cavalry, should first be registered as an archaeological site with a Protection Zone. The implementation of this order of the Supreme Court, by the archaeological service of the Prefecture (Αρχαιολογική Υπηρεσία Μεσσηνίας) and the Municipality of Kalamata (Δήμος Καλαμάτας), could make this monument accessible to the general public, as over time it has become inaccessible.

The historian Dikaios Vagiakakos, within the framework of a major pan-Maniot cultural event two decades ago, had submitted a proposal to establish events under the title “Victories” (Νικητήρια), which would include annual Pan-Maniot celebrations, held in rotation at each of these battlefields, combined with an annual athletic running race to and from the three battlefields (Verga, Diros, Polyaravos).

We, as a minimum debt of honour to those who played the leading roles, with the limited means at our disposal, will undertake and continue to promote during the coming period actions to raise awareness among the numerous and dispersed Maniot community, so that the bicentenary of the Maniot epics of 1826 may lead both to an upgrading of the celebration sites and substantiation of the events, with the aim of extending their historical memory over time.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Mani, closed off until only a few decades ago, now finds itself subject to the many forces unleashed by its recent opening, forces that have brought wealth and new inhabitants, but also foreign customs and imported ways of life. And yet there remains one powerful element, permeating its entire historical horizon and stretching into the future, drawing strength from the deep roots laid down over the previous five centuries of struggle for independence and self-governance: the quality of generousity or magnanimity (ευψυχία) or which, starting with the pursuit of individual and family prosperity, expands naturally into a love for the region and its people.

The paths of magnanimity in the years when Mani was sealed off from the outside world were simple and unobstructed in their expression through practical works and tangible results. Now, in the open horizons of the modern era, magnanimity must contend with difficulties, if it is to manifest itself in ways demanded by the very roots that nurtured it. Along with the money, many foreign models and behaviours entered our region, and they tend to separate the shared impulse toward individual advancement from the broader prosperity of the region itself. In a geographical space long marked by limited natural and economic resources, as ours was for many centuries, the tendencies toward nouveau riche lifestyles were non-existent, and any economic differentiation among the members of the community was particularly limited. To some extent, of course, these constraints persist in the modern era owing to the extreme fragmentation of land – which today is valuable in many ways – thus preventing the accumulation of substantial wealth through the sale or economic exploitation of large areas for tourism investments.

The problem reveals itself chiefly in the inability to form strong centers capable of implementing common actions of supra-individual benefit – actions whose positive results could then diffuse across the wider region. The long-standing policy of the central state to weaken Mani’s administrative unity – by partitioning it into two Prefectures (νομοί), by truncating and later abolishing its two provincial administrations, and by cutting and tailoring the new local government units according to petty political expediencies – constitutes the starting point of the erosion of the traditional tendencies toward collective undertakings of generalised benefit.

There is, however, another traditional inclination toward pettiness (μικροψυχία) – which requires strong social counterweights if it is to be confronted when it manifests itself by certain members of the community during efforts to advance common investment programs. We will mention briefly only one such example: the story of the olive-oil processing and standardisation facility in Neochori of Western Mani, built in 1990 by the Agricultural Cooperative with European Community funding and without financial burden on its members. Later machinery and large tanks for processing and storing oil were sold off, and the building was transformed into a brewery, its debts growing year after year, while the olive oil of local producers is sold in bulk at disgracefully low prices. With the two municipalities (δήμοι) now the only remaining living social cells in the region, all hopes for generating results of broad social benefit necessarily are directed toward them. Unfortunately, during the fifteen years they have operated within these administrative boundaries, no noteworthy social outcomes have been recorded – not even from the management of the specialised European Community Program for Mani in 2010, echoing what occurred in the 1990s with the similarly specialised program for our region funded by the European Community.

The social processes by which new residents are assimilated in any region evolve dynamically. The strong assimilates the weaker and integrates them into their own way of life and transmitting their culture to them. In Mani we know this assimilative process well – both through lived experience and historical record. We know that the powerful genetic and cultural foundations of the ancient inhabitants of our land, the Eleftherolaconians, absorbed into the social body the numerous groups of other tribes who migrated here after the medieval period. For the Maniot space, in the modern era, to be once again an assimilator – this time of individuals and groups bearing stronger cultural characteristics who now settle in our region – it is essential that our ancestral magnanimity awaken and overcome our advancing pettiness. Yet the magnanimity of each person, however it manifests, cannot by itself lead to cumulative results. Only through our representatives in the two local government institutions of our region – and through close cooperation between them, purged of petty political motives and ambitions of self-perpetuation in power – can the Mani of the future emerge dynamically as the continuation of the Mani of our heroic ancestors.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

An increasing number of news reports concerning public contracts, whether they refer to intangible goods or to construction works, have recently appeared in current affairs. The multiple potential approaches to their content provide the opportunity to shed light on their until now silenced aspects which, in many cases, bear unlawful characteristics that reach as far as financial irregularities at the expense of the public, for the benefit of specific individuals or groups involved in the management process, and ultimately for favoured individuals. The fact that the tentacles of these situations reach into the political system with its many versions creates even stronger destabilising tendencies in the social fabric, because this strengthening of the tendencies toward corruption undermines the foundations of social cohesion and of the common course along the path of progress and prosperity.

With the general decline of social morality now confirmed, it appears that the main possibility for dealing with such situations lies in reinforcing the principle of competition among the teams managing the projects carried out through public contracts. Once competitive interests are identified and specified during the drafting of the tendering terms for the projects, and subsequently maintained during the long course of the projects’ development and the monitoring of their social results, it is certain that they will protect public funds as well as the social benefits that the projects’ design aims for.

To avoid theorising, we present a case in which the principle of competitiveness was effectively applied through the formation of competing interests among the teams participating in the implementation of the projects: During the second half of the 2000s, the Ministry of Public Works was headed by George Souflias as minister and Polytechnic Professor Themistocles Xanthopoulos as deputy minister. At that time, the European Union’s priority was the opening of reliable and safe road axes that would bring the peoples of the European Union closer in terms of travel time. The crucial element for this goal to be implemented were the tendering terms of the projects, which would lead to the achievement of the goal through reliable procedures. The key elements of these conditions, which the ministry leadership successfully formulated, were: a) tendering through the process of Public–Private Partnerships (ΣΔΙΤ), with funds from the state, the European Union, and consortia of private companies and banks; b) a complex repayment of construction costs through grants from European Union funds and long-term concessions for toll collection; and c) The inclusion, within the construction cost, of maintenance for the entire duration of the contract.

With this complex set of terms, the construction works escaped the exclusive supervision of the state’s Technical Services, since the Technical Services of the Banks also participated—with indeed a strong capacity for intervention. Thus, a competitive framework was formed between the construction consortia, which sought to reduce construction costs in order to generate higher profits, and the Banks, which sought to optimise the quality of construction, thereby ensuring the safe repayment of the loans they had granted, in combination with the reduction of operating costs during the total time of toll management concession. Ultimately, from these compositions of purpose and conditions for the projects’ implementation, the result was: a) the obligation for quality construction in order to avoid damages that would lead to costly repairs, and b) the smooth operation of the road axes for the benefit of travellers—an element that translates into long-term social benefit.

Elements of a competitive framework in the operation of the construction sector of public contracts were also contained in the same ministerial team’s proposal to create a few, but highly capitalised, public works construction companies that would undertake the execution of projects with reliability and credibility. One of the goals of this initiative was also the linking of construction with the undertaking of long-term maintenance. The proposal was fought by various kinds of interests, among which petty political expediencies and guild mentality are no exception.

Result: instances of poor workmanship have flooded current affairs due to the decline in construction quality, the tolerant legislative framework that sustains these phenomena, and the denial of responsibility for the poor workmanship by everyone—both contractors and supervisors. In our immediate surroundings, we have for years observed how the poor-quality asphalt resurfacing done two years ago on the Kardamyli–Areopoli Provincial Road, on the straight stretch between Stoupa and Agios Nikolaos, is being dealt with. Large potholes have formed on the asphalt in two or three areas roughly in the middle of the roadway, and they still remain in the same condition! Apparently, no one is responsible for carrying out the repair and ensuring safe driving for those travelling by car.

                                                                                                     THE EDITORIAL BOARD