In the heart of Laconic Mani, in a landscape of wild beauty overlooking the sea, the traditional settlement of Vathia is a monument of architectural tradition and perhaps the most photographed village of Mani.


If you go to Mani and do not go through Vathia, you will have lost one of the diamonds of the area. Built in a wild and imposing landscape, at the southern tip of the Mani Peninsula, with its stone tower houses perched on a slope, Vathia is perhaps the most photographed village of Mani.

This impressive traditional settlement of Laconia is also known as the "Parthenon" of the Mani architectural tradition. The famous tower city strongly resists the passage of time and is an important monument of architectural tradition as well as a sample of popular fortifications in Greece.

An open museum of Mani architecture

Just before Cape Tainaro, spread out at the top of a hill, Vathia overlooks the sea and the sunset. A visit to the top of the hill and the alleys with the half-ruined tower houses offers the visitor a special journey into the past, reminding him of an open-air museum of traditional architecture.

The towers of Vathia were built mainly during the 18th century. The village experienced a period of prosperity in the 19th century, while during the 20th century it was gradually abandoned by its inhabitants and many of the towers of Vathia were deserted and others collapsed. All this until 1980, when at the initiative of EOT, several tower houses were restored and converted into traditional tourist accommodation, bringing to the surface the beauty of the forgotten Vathia.

EXCURSIONS IN LACONIC MANI
Nearby from Vathia there are beautiful places (Areopoli, Limeni, Diros Caves, Gerolimenas etc.) waiting for you to discover. Near Vathia you will find Marmari, a surprise beach, hidden among the bare hills. In essence, these are two very beautiful sandy beaches with fantastic, turquoise waters and magnificent views of the bare hills that dive into the sea.


A visit to Vathia can be combined with a walk to Porto Cagio, the southernmost port of Mani, as well as to Cape Tainaro, at the southern tip of mainland Europe, where, according to mythology, was the gateway to Hades.

Source: Reader