Shops around Pylos' main square.

The Tsiklitiras plane tree.

The house where Konstantinos Tsiklitiras was born. It houses the collection of the French Grecophyle (Philhellene) René Puaux.

Today Pylos, is a small, picturesque town, living mainly on tourism.  It is built amphitheatrically at the slopes of a hill leading down to a small port.  The center of all town activities is the main Square (“Three Admirals' Square”).  It is a big, shady square with cafes, restaurants and shops on its three sides and the sea on its fourth side. The town was built in the 19th century by the French, after the Battle of Navarino.

It could be the perfect place to rest and enjoy the sea breeze and tasty food, but... you remember “Greek misery”?  Well, it is present here as well.  The main road from Kalamata and Patras to Methoni goes thru the center of the town and even worse: all the incoming and outgoing traffic moves around the main square.  Actually, the square plays the role of a huge roundabout.  So, you poor tourist sit down to relax, to drink your coffee or have lunch, and the noise and exhaust fumes of hundreds of buses and trucks and cars moving around the square is such that make you miss Athens!

The "Three Admirals’ Square" took its name by the homonymous monument which lies in the middle of it and is created by sculptor Thomopoulos. The monument serves as a constant reminder of the Battle of Navarino. On the three sides of the monument, one can see the figures of the admirals of the three fleets which confronted the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet in the Battle of 1827; Codrington, Heyden and DeRigny. At both sides at the base of the monument, there are two cannons, an Ottoman one and a Venetian one, which are symbols of the civilizations that passed through there.

Just next to the monument stands a big plane tree that bears the name of Dr Elias Tsiklitiras, a famous 19th century mayor of the town, who planted it. Elias Tsiklitiras was the father of Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, a Greek athlete and Olympic champion.

Konstantinos Tsiklitiras is the local hero of Pylos. He is definitely a person who enriches the significant historical presence of the place. Tsiklitiras with his actions and his achievements managed to be mentioned until nowadays. He participated in the Olympic Games of 1908, and 1912 who won a golden and a bronze medal in Stockholm (1912) and two silver ones in London (1908).  He served in the Greek army during the First Balkan War in the Battle of Bizani on the Epirus front in 1913.

One of the best-preserved castles of Greece is that of the New Navarino or Niokastro (Νιόκαστρο) built during the Turkish occupation to control the western coast of the Peloponnese. 

In 1573, after the Naval Battle of Lepanto (1571), to secure more the natural port of Pylos, the Turks built a castle in the south entrance  of the bay and threw rocks and boulders at the north entry (“passage of the Fig”) to make its water shallow.

The new castle was named Niokastro opposed to older (Paliokastro) that rises to the north entrance of the bay. 

The entrance to the Niokastro.

After the Venetian conquest (1686) of this part of the Peloponnese, New Navarino became the temporary capital of the Venetian lands on the Peloponnese.

The Venetians immediately started to devise all kinds of improvements on the fort in accordance to the changed military habits. These plans were never carried out, however, as the Venetians had to give up their possessions in the Peloponnese already in 1715.    

The castle changed hands once again, and the Turks got it till the famous Battle of Navarino in 1827.  In 1828, it was restored by the French who built several structures, like the "Maison-Barracks", which today houses the Pylos Museum.

The French army also helped in building a charming little city at the foot of this immense fort: Pylos. 

Inside the castle. The main entrance is seen in the middle.

Till 2012, the ground floor of Maison-Barracks, which is today the archeological museum, used to house the collection of Grecophyle René Puaux, one of the greatest philhellenes.

During his life, René collected a large number of sketches, tables and other objects from the Greek Revolution, especially from Pylos and the Peloponnese. He donated his collection to Pylos. The collection was transferred to the renovated Tsiklitiras House (next to the Town Hall). 

The upper floor of the building is used by the Underwater Antiquities Center as a library and also offers some rooms as a guesthouse for the scientific staff.

Today in the museum you will see funeral gifts from the vaulted (Mycenean) tombs of Voidokilia and Koukounara: vases, jewelery, arrowheads, gold objects, animal figures, etc.

There are also artifacts found at the ancient cemetery of the Hellenistic period from Divari region in Gialova.  The highlights of the museum are the beautiful painted glass containers, an elaborate golden belt, the statues of the Dioscuri and a helmet made of boar teeth.

The acropolis of Niokastro.

Inside Niokastro.

View from Niokastro towards the southern opening of the Navarino Bay.

The castle offers a magnificent panorama over the Bay of Navarino and the island of Sfactiria.

It is open daily from 09:00 am to 15:00 pm exept Mondays.  Entrance fee: 6 € (3 €, for seniors, etc). 

As you enter the castle, on your right hand is the ticket booth and on your left is the Museum. 

The beautifully, recently restored two-storey building (previously known as "Maison-Barracks"), houses today in a modern and comprehensive way, archaeological artifacts from excavations in the area of Pylia, dating from the Neolithic to the Roman times.    

The pylos archeological museum inside the Niokastro.

Artifacts of the Niokastro museum exhibitions.

To the north, at the highest point stands the citadel, an impressive hexagonal fort.  This is the acropolis of the castle and has six powerful towers at each of its six angles.

In the center imposes the Church of the Transfiguration (of the Savior).  The church was built as a mosque by the Turks and later transformed into an Orthodox Church (Ναός Μεταμόρφωσις του Σωτήρος) by the Greeks.

To the south, overlooking the sea, are the ramparts reinforced by the towers-bastions of Hebdomos and Santa Maria.

The ramparts, bastions, cisterns and all the "accessories" still visible to this day give a clear picture of the efforts of its creators to make this fortress impregnable.

The "Building of Pasha".

Among other useful information, you will learn about the “Roman wreck with the big columns and sarcophagi” outside Sapietza island, which is the country's first underwater park. You will see perfectly preserved hazelnuts from a wrecked merchant ship and many other interesting things.

At the end of your visit, you can watch a very informative video about underwater archeology. You will see images from divers - archaeologists and other staff in action, as well as scenes from underwater findings in several shipwrecks. The exhibition is free of charge,  since you do not need an extra ticket to visit it.

"Navagia" exhibition.

The Turks when they built the Niokastro fortress,  built also an 1km-long stone aqueduct to bring water from the source of Koumpe at Handrinos Village to the castle.

One can easily see this impressive, and very well preserved medieval aqueduct on the road from Methoni to Pylos.  It stands at the entrance of Pylos.

It is known to locals as "kamares".

The medieval aqueduct at the southern entrance of Pylos.

The town of Gialova and its famous beach, seen from inside Navarino Bay.

If this kind of beach is not of your taste then head a bit north to "Golden Beach" (Chrysi Akti).  At about 1 km from Gialova, on the national road Pylos-Kyparissia (road No.9), turn left (*).  Continue at that road and after you pass the entrance of Erodios Camping, you are already on the narrow strip of land separating the lagoon from the bay.  This more than 3km strip of land is a huge sandy beach (called “Chrysi Akti/Divari Beach”).  The road, that runs all the way along the beach, is not paved but it is easy to drive on it.  You can park your car anywhere you want by the road or on small paths leading to the beach (in some places you can park under shady trees).  

(*) Note: At the turn there is a chaos of road signs. Even though there are more signs than necessary, you better drive slowly and be alert because the moment you see the signs you have already passed by.  It happened to me the first time I went there.

Signs at the entrance of the road leading to Golden beach (Chrysi Akti). The ones on the left you see driving from Pylos to Kyparissia and the one on th right from Kyparissia to Pylos. Both pictures were taken from Google Street View.

At the western end of this beach, just opposite of Sfaktiria island (the northern opening to the Navarino Bay, known as “Perasma Sykia”, which means “Fig pass”), at the foothills of Korifasio Hill, there is a trail going left leading to the Old Navarino Castle ("Palaiokastro") and one going right to “Nestor’s Cave” and Voidokilia beach.  

The end of Golden beach. From here start thde trail uphill to Palaiokastro and the trail to Voidokilia beach.

There is plenty of space to park your car here.  Both trails are very easy to walk without any extra gear: the one going to Voidokilia is the easiest and takes less than 20 min to walk it, while you need more than 40min to climb up to the castle. 

From the point you park your car, if you want you can swim a small distance across the Fig pass to a small and more secluded beach on Sfaktiria island.

You can swim across the Fig pass and reach a small beach on Sfaktiria island.

The Palaiokastro (Palionavarino, or Old Navarino castle) was built by the Franks in early 13th century on Korifasio Hill, on the ruins of the ancient Acropolis of the classical Greek city Pylos-Koryfasion.  The high location where the old castle was constructed, offers a unique view of Pylos, but also of the entire beach of Gialova and Navarino Bay. The altitude and position of Palaiocastro gave it great strategic importance.

The castle is in ruins today but the fortification walls and its towers are saved in a relatively good condition and it is still impressive. Paliokastro lost its importance when the Turks built the new fortress (Niokastro) at the southern entrance of the Navarino bay, in 1573.  Nowadays, access to the ruins of the castle is not recommended, as at its entrance which is located at the end of the path starting from Chrisi Akti, there is high risk of parts falling from the fortification of the castle. There is an alternative way of accessing the castle, from the pathway that begins near the entrance of the Nestor’s Cave and leads to a hole in the castle’s walls. You can access the castle from that hole.

Below the castle, on the cliffs just above Voidokilia beach, there is a cave referred to as “Nestor’s Cave” by ancient Greek traveler Pausanias.   According to Greek mythology, it was there that Hermes hid the 50 cattle he had stolen from his brother, Apollo.  The latter found out and as a penance Hermes offered him a lyre made of tortoise shell.  This is how Apollo got his famous lyre.  It is easy to climb up to the cave, following an easy ascending trail from Voidokilia sand dunes. The cave is full of stalactites.

Me into deep waters.

Palaiokastro seen from the south.

Part of Palaiokastro seen from Golden Beach.

The Nestor's cave, just below Palaiokastro.

When we visited the area, the beach was almost empty and it felt like being in paradise.  Kilometers of beautiful beach all to ourrself.  The sea is very shallow and you have to walk quite a lot into the water to find deep waters.  This makes the area the perfect place for kids of any age who love to play into waters without having to swim.  The beach is back to back with the lagoon of Yalova the southernmost station of migratory birds between Europe and Africa. 

The overflow barrier between Navarino Bay and Gialova Lagoon.

Voidokilia Beach seen from the Mycenean tomb.

Less than 2km north of Voidokilia is located the small village Petrochori.  The beaches of Petrochori are excellent.  One the closest to the village, and on the dunes, there is the restaurant “Ammothines” (means sand-dunes), with excellent cuisine and a lounge bar with shady, comfortable armchairs on the dunes and on the beach itself.  We did not manage to find a shady table at the restaurant, so we sat at the lounge bar.  We had a club-sandwich, which came with generous quantities of grilled chicken fillet in it and tasty potato chips as a side dish. 

Palace of Nestor and Chora.

From this point and all the way to the north Peloponnese (for hundreds of kilometers), start a series of long beautiful sandy beaches like no other place has.  This is the beachgoer’s paradise.  Besides, some kilometers away from here, stands the most luxurious seaside resort in Greece. Costa Navarino Westin Resort is a huge place, which caters for the rich and famous.

From Petrochori drive back towards the national road Pylos-Kyparissia (No.9), cross it at the junction and follow the signs towards Chora.  From this junction to Chora you will drive for about 9 km in an area covered with olive groves.  The landscape is stanning and you feel like floating on a silver-green sea of olive trees. 

4 km before you reach Chora, on Epano Englianos Hill stands one of the highlights of your visit in Messenia: the (so called) “Palace of Nestor”.  You will be promptly warned by signs for the archeological site (thanks God!) to turn left at the car park.

From Petrochori to Palace of Nestor is a short 5km drive.

The entrance to the Palace of Nestor.

The site is the best-preserved Mycenaean Greek palace discovered. The palace is the primary structure within a larger settlement, once probably surrounded by a fortified wall. The palace was a two-storey building with large courtyards, many store rooms, private apartments, workshops, baths, light wells, reception rooms and a sophisticated sewage system.  The halls were decorated with remarkable wall paintings, while pictorial representations also decorated the palatial floors. The settlement had been long occupied with most artifacts discovered dating from 1300 BC. The palace complex was destroyed by fire in the early 12th century.

The throne room of Palace of Nestor.

The new roof of the Palace.

The Palace of Nestor was an important center in Mycenaean times and described in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad as Nestor's kingdom of "sandy Pylos".  The palace featured in the story of the Trojan War, as Homer tells us that Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, “went to Pylos and to Nestor, the shepherd of the people, who received him in his lofty house and gave him kindly welcome, as a father might his own son who after a long time had newly come from afar”.

Nestor was a mythical hero of ancient Greece and King of Pylos. He took part with the Lapiths in the war against the Centaurs, in the Argonauts Campaign, in the hunting of Kalydonios Kapros and in the Trojan War. Homer presents him as a wise and prudent old man, whose advice is heard with respect from all the Achaeans.

The Palace of Nestor.

In 1912 and 1926 two tholos tombs north of the Bay of Navarino were excavated. One contained three decorated jars and the other a collection of Early Mycenaean and Middle Helladic pots.  A joint Hellenic-American expedition was formed with the Greek Archaeological Service and the University of Cincinnati and trial excavations of Epano Englianos were started in 1939. From the first day stone walls, fresco fragments, Mycenaean pottery and inscribed tablets were found. During the first year of excavations, around 1,000 Linear B tablets were found which after translation showed that they were part of the royal archive. A systematic excavation was impossible throughout World War II and excavations resumed in 1952. From 1952 to 1966 the Palace was uncovered with areas around the acropolis being further explored.   The Linear B clay tablets confirm that the palace served as the administrative, political and financial center of Mycenaean Messenia.

There is a dispute among archeologists if this is really the Palace of Nestor referred by Homer, but this is of little importance to the visitor, who can walk through time and discover the life and traditions of our ancestors almost 3,500 years ago.

In June 2016 the site re-opened to the public after the roof was replaced by a modern structure with raised walkways for visitors and an elevator for people with mobility difficulties.

Just before the entrance to the archeological site, on your right, there is a video room where projections narrate the story of the palace and the excavations.  After the entrance you get your ticket and you are free to wander around on elevated paths that give you a good view (of what has been left) of the palace bellow, as well as the mesmerizing landscape surrounding the archeological site.  There are informative plates all over the place, that give you an insight of the life in the palace.

Storage jars in the Palace.

Flowers grown on the tomb walls.

About 90 meters from the gate of the archeological site, to the northeast, passing through the car parking and an olive grove, one reaches a Mycenean tomb (tholos tomb or vaulted tomb), whose tholos (vault) was restored in 1957 by the Hellenic Archaeological Service, as  it had collapsed and the grave was filled with dirt. Though built with small stones, it is a large grave, with a diameter of 9.35 m. 

The Tholos (dome) of the tomb.

Your visit to the palace is not complete without visiting the "archeological museum in Chora".  The museum is a nice little building, that looks like coming out of the 60s (actually, it was established in 1969).  It has 3 rooms full of findings from the Palace of Nestor as well as other nearby excavations. It accommodates several Linear B tablets, which survived today "thanks to" the fire than destroyed the Palace of Nestor (!). 

The museum is located just outside the town on the opposite exit (north) of the one you are entering the town driving from the Palace of Nestor. 

Me in front of the tomb.

The tomb had been seized in antiquity, but the looters were unusually careless, and therefore great-valued findings remained in the grave. Among the objects found, there were many golden artifacts, including a royal seal with a winged grip, two rings, glazed jewelry and a shield-shaped pendant. Also 250 beads of amethyst and various other stones, as well as fragments of bronze guns, were discovered. Findings in the tomb revealed that the burial customs were exactly similar to those of the Mycenae, Thebes and other centers of the Proto-Mycenaean period (16th century BC).

The archeological museum in Chora.

After leaving the museum, continue driving out of town and in about one kilometer you will see a sign that prompts you to turn left to the location of more Mycenean tombs.  It’s worth the some-hundred-meters detour to see a series of dug into the ground tombs.  The tombs are into an open field where sheep graze freely.  This is one of the things that still amazes me about this country: wherever you walk, wherever you look there is something to remind you of the long history of this land.

Mycenean tombs in a field outside Chora.

The ancient fortification of Messene

The entrance to Andromonastero.

The main church stands on a complex of vaulted structures that cover the most important water source of the area, while a well-organized pipe system served for the water management. During the course of the renovations a glass floor has been placed over the water source inside the church. After the original building of the Church a small vaulted room, probably a chapel dedicated to Prophet Elias, was added to the south of the relevant cross-arm. Possibly by the early 17th century, the main church was surrounded by an exonarthex and the existing side aisles. In the same period, the east side of the north aisle was transformed into a chapel. Its current dedication to Saint Catherine probably dates to the late eighteenth century, when Andromonastiro was annexed by the famous Monastery of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai.

The Church was originally paved with an elaborate opus sectile mosaic, part of which was revealed and conserved in the narthex. New elements revealed during the restoration of the main church confirm a date for its first structural phase to the first decades of the 13th century. Hence, the katholikon of Andromonastiro represents one of the most significant monuments built in the Peloponnese, right after the installation of the Franks in the region and the foundation of the Principality of Achaea.

The nave is decorated with wall paintings, now partially preserved, which had been covered almost entirely with several coats of lime. Three main painted layers, dating to the thirteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, were uncovered during conservation. The original marble templon is considered to be a creation of famous masons that created also other temples in the area. The carefully carved architrave of the original templon nowadays tops the katholikon's later built altar screen; this should be dated to the 18th century, according to the style of the wall-paintings that decorates its frontal side representing the Christ, Virgin Mary and Saint John the Theologian. The new elements revealed during the restoration of the main church confirm a date for its first structural phase to the first decades of the 13th century. 

The water spring under the katholikon.

Wall paintings in the main church.

The marble templon and the nave of the main church.

The refectory stands next to the main church.

All of the cells (except one) have a fireplace, cupboards, and a small arched niche for an icon. The first floor's northwest corner occupies the “synodikon” a reception apartment for the heads of the monastery and the official guests. It consists of a large, vaulted room with fireplace and a small toilet. The west wing's first floor is accessed from the courtyard by a stone staircase. This floor features six small cells, each with an arched doorway and a large window opening to the hayat. 

The west wing comprises the two-storied building of the stables and first-floor cells. Two elongated, vaulted stables occupy most of the west wing's ground floor. Between them lies the monastery's wine press, with a small cistern for wine must in the east. The six small, vaulted rooms to the east of the stables, which probably date to the seventeenth century, were incorporated into this new wing during the extensive refurbishment of 1753. 

The west wing of the Andromonastero.

The cells on the upper floor of the west wing.

Andromonastero seen from the south.

The road from Andromonastero to Ancient Messene passes through the city walls.

"Hermaic columns" were erected in the internal circular space of the Arcadian Gate as God Hermes protected the gates. These columns were also described by Pausanias. There is an inscription over the northern niche of one of the column: “Κόιντος Πλώτιος Ευφημίων”.

A cluster of funerary monuments was recently discovered outside the Arcadian Gate, dated from the 2nd to 4th c. AD, at a site used for the burial of the noble families of the city.

Part of the fortification walls and two more square protective towers are also preserved in the area.

The Arcadian Gate is a monumental construction, built with large limestone rectangular stones. It is circular and spacious, with a double entrance (internal and external). The internal entrance led to a paved road towards city center and the external to the road which ended at the capital of Arcadia, Megalopolis (this is how the Gate took its name). There are two square protective towers, to the right and left of the external entrance, communicating with the main construction of the gate.

The circular part of the Arcadian Gate between the external and the internal (seen here) part of the gate.

A cluster of funerary monuments was recently discovered outside the Arcadian Gate.

Me as Samson.

The archaelogical site from above.

Continue south and just before the Museum building turn right.  A big car parking lot is located before the entrance of the archeological site of Ancient Messene.  Buy your ticket at the entrance for 12€ (6€ for seniors).  This is a rather expensive entrance, but believe me the archeological site worth every single euro: the size is vast, the buildings impressive and the restorations extended. 

Note: Do not forget to get a bottle of water with you, as well as a hat and most probably some sun lotion, because the area is huge and the sun is harsh during summer months. 

The archaeological site of ancient Messene lies in a fertile valley approximately in the centre of Messenia prefecture, south of Mt Ithome.

Ithome was the strongest natural and manmade fortress of Messenia, controlling the valleys of Stenyclaros to the north and Makaria to the south. (Strabo compares it to Corinth as regards strategic importance). The first installation on the site dates to the Late Neolithic or the Early Bronze Age, while in the 9th-8th c. BC the cult of Zeus Ithomatas was established on the peak of Mt Ithome. A heroon shrine was founded in the lower city during the Geometric period (800-700 BC), along with the first sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, Asklepios and Messene (the princess from Argos, who with her husband Polycaon, established the kingdom of Messenia). All the sacred buildings belonged to a town named Ithome.

The first monument the visitor encounters is the Ancient Messinian Theater. It was also used for massive political gatherings.

The city of Ancient Messene was founded in 369 BC by the Theban general Epaminondas (after the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, which resulted in Spartan defeat and the establishment of the Theban Hegemony).

It became the capital of the free Messenian state following a long period (about four centuries) of occupation of the Messenian territory by the Spartans.

Τhe Battle of Leuctra.

On the site of the city are preserved public and religious buildings, many of them reconstructed to a large degree. The extensive complex of the Asklepieion (3rd-2nd c. BC) stands out, with the Doric sanctuary of Asklepios, which is surrounded by stoai of buildings of a religious and secular-funerary nature.

A series of reconstructed monumental structures, such as the Ecclesiasterion-Odeion, the Bouleuterion, the Theatre, the Arsinoe Fountain, the Agora and the Stadium, as well as an extensive group of funerary monuments and heroons, including the reconstructed monumental Saithid Mausoleum (1st c. BC-1st c. AD), bear witness to the size of the city and its political, religious, economic and social importance. 

The Agora (market) extends about 200 m northwest of Asklepieion and about 50 m east of the Theater. Built a little earlier than the Asklepieion (mid 3rd century BC), it continues to function as a commercial market alongside the Asclepieion, which moreover assembled political functions. Agora occupied an area of 186 x 176 m. It was 4 times larger than the Asklepieion. In this area the traveler Pausanias saw the sanctuaries of Zeus Savior, Poseidon and Aphrodite.

Between the Theater and the Market stands a great fountain. The traveler Pausanias tells us that the Fountain of the Agora had the name of Arsinoe, the daughter of the mythical king of Messina Leukippos and mother Asclepius. The fountain includes an elongated reservoir of approximately 40m length.

At the Ecclesiasterion-Odeion took place worship performances and political gatherings. It is a small theatrical structure with a concave rectangular shell and a circular orchestra, measuring 9.70 meters in diameter.

Pausanias presents the Asklepieion as a museum of works of art, mainly statues, and not as an ordinary temple of medical care. It was the most prominent place of Messina, the center of the public life of the city, which operated alongside the adjacent Agora. More than 140 pedestals for bronze statues of mainly political figures and five platforms surround the Doric Temple and the altar, while many pedestals are located along the galleries.

The Stadium is a prestigious building complex. It has a horseshoe shape, with ramps and stairwells, seats for the prominent citizens. At the bottom there is a Roman addition of protective walls as in those years it was turned into an arena. The northern horseshoe section of the Stadium includes 18 stands with 18 rows of seats, separated by staircases. It is surrounded by Doric arcades, whose columns are mostly in place. The northern arcade is double, the eastern and the western are simple.

Next to the stadium are saved the columns from the Gymnasium which cover a large area that includes galleries, a palaestra, rooms and temples. At the Gymnasium were found lists of athletes and trainers, inscriptions and offerings from which important information was extracted.

“Artemis Laphria”: found in 1989, it is the best preserved by a series of copies of the Antonine era, which depicts Artemis as it pulls the arrow from the quiver to shoot with a bow that holds on her left hand (left). "Hermes of Messene": a roman copy of "Satellite" of Polykleitos, found in 1995 (right).

The basic idea of the Hippodamian urban plan, arising from the democratic ideal, is that all citizens should have plots of land of equal size and suitability, and access to public and sacred buildings, the communal spaces in other words, which dominate the city due to their monumental size and wealth of decoration. Messene forms an exceptional and uniquely preserved example of this type of urban plan, precisely because it preserves all the elements that make up the social network of the city, whether religious (sanctuaries and heroons), secular (Agora, balaneion-baths, dining-halls, theatre, gymnasium, stadium), political/administrative (ecclesiasterion, bouleuterion, Archive), funerary or residential.

After having visited this exciting archeological site, which I have to admit has really impressed me, visit the small but interesting museum. It was built in early 70s and extensively renovated in the 90s to house finds of the excavations in ancient Messene.

You do not need an extra ticket, as the one you already bought covers the entrance to the museum, too. 

Among the sculpture exhibits, it is worth mentioning the "Hermes of Messene" a roman copy of "Satellite" of Polykleitos; “Artemis Laphria” and works of the local sculptor Damomontas, a prominent personality with economic power and political influence, who during the later Hellenistic Period (late 3rd-early 2nd century BC) sculpted statues depicting exclusively gods and heroes.

The old Voulkano Monastery on the peak of Mt Ithomi.

Inside the walls of the old Voulkano Monastery.

At the northern wall of old Voulkano there is a small opening covered with a wooden grid. Enter at your own risk.

The new Voulkano Monastery seen from the road coming from Mavromati.

Ruins of the "Laconian Gate" next to the road leading to new Voulkano Monastery.

The old monastery on Ithomi abandoned in 1625 due to the unpredictable cold of the winter months and the difficulty of the pilgrims to reach it, so monks sought a place to the south. They decided to move to the location where they found a water spring, the so-called "Mana of Water” and a two-storey tower, which became the beginning of the new monastery.  Today, the imposing complexity of the monastery with the loggia and arches astonishes the visitor. 

The new Voulkano Monastery.

The Androusa castle.

The castle is located at the entrance of the village and looks very impressive from the road.  The western fortification walls have been gone, so the road goes directly into the castle.  There is plenty of space to park your car in the castle itself.  The eastern walls and fortification towers are very well preserved. 

The castle was built sometime after 1250 by the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, Guillaume II de Villehardouin. In 1381 became the seat of the Navarrese Company, a company of mercenaries, mostly from Navarre and Gascony, who fought in Greece during the late 14th century and early 15th century, in the twilight of Frankish power in the dwindling remnant of the Latin Empire.  The company was hired to help James of Baux to claim the throne of Achaea. They were not very successful, but eventually they became the de facto rulers of the Principality of Achaea and Androusa was their seat.  In 1417, the Paleologi family, the Byzantine rulers of the Despotate of Mystras, took the castle. In 1462 the Turks captured Androusa, who kept it till the indepedence of Greece.

As the monastery was closed, we had plenty of time before the end of the day.  So, we decided to visit the “Androusa castle”. 

We continued on the same road and at the national road 'Messinis-Naou Epikouriou Apollonos' we turned south (right) and then right again at Eva village.  We continued for a couple of kilometers till the village of Androusa. 

The castle seen from the road Eva-Androusa.

The only remnant of the western fortification walls.