This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom traditional stone villa is situated just outside the medieval mountain village of Proastio, on the Mani peninsula above the seaside village of Kardamyli. The nearest beach, in the unspoilt bay of Kalamitsi, is a 7-minute drive or 35-minute walk down an ancient path.
On the edge of an olive grove, with 360 degree views of mountains and sea from its own small ‘Mani tower’, the villa was built in 2011 using stone taken from its own land. All doors open onto a wide terrace and a lovely garden in sympathy with its natural environment: rocks and the olive trees that produce the famous Mani olive oil, fig, pomegranate, lemon, orange and quince and the perpetual smell of lavender and rosemary.
The villa has an open kitchen-dining- living area, separated from the shaded terrace by sliding doors. Facilities include gas hob, electric oven, refrigerator, dishwasher and washer-drier. With an enclosed log-burning fireplace and electric radiators to keep it warm in winter and a high roof of exposed rafters and standing /ceiling fans to keep it cool in summer, its furnishings are simple but stylish. The main bedroom, with ensuite bathroom, has a double bed. There is a second bedroom with two single beds next to the second bathroom (with shower). A sofa-bed in the main room separates into two single beds to provide accommodation for a total of six people.
An outdoor shower, barbecue, and wifi modem, plasma screen and DVDs, radio/CD player and books and maps on the area, are available for the use of guests. The triangular 6.2x 4m swimming pool, with easy-access steps and deck chairs and loungers on a wide paved surround, provides ideal opportunities for sunbathing and cooling off.
The villa is situated on a quiet road on the outskirts of the village but within a few minutes’ walk, on traffic-free lanes are the village square, ancient churches, café-bar and basic village store. Numerous paths from the village lead directly into the foothills and gorges of the Taygetos mountain-range.
The picturesque seaside village of Kardamyli less than 10 minutes drive away has three supermarkets, a post office, ATMs and a range of interesting shops. It has a number of excellent tavernas and restaurants - many open year-round. (Try Lela’s by the waterside at sunset or the Diaskouri fish taverna overlooking the harbour which are particular favourites).
Mikros Pyrgos (little tower) is set in country ideal for walking, whether a ramble on ancient paths ("kalderimi") to discover the orchids, wildflowers and Byzantine churches, or all-day hiking in the mountains above.
From the village there is easy access to the sea, with small coves nearby, or at the popular sandy beaches of Kalogria and Stoupa to the south or at the fishing village of Agios Nikolaos, the villa provides ample opportunities both to relax and to be more active. Diving and other water sports are available and the spectacular coastline is an artist's delight - the British travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor [author of the seminal ‘Mani’] and his photographer wife, Joan, made this their base for 50 years. You are spoilt for choice of places to stop off : whether for a coffee on the terrace of the Vyros Hotel overlooking the deep Vyros Gorge, fresh fish on the quayside of Agios Nikolaos , or to lunch on the rich stews of home-grown vegetables in medieval Kastania in the hills.
The house makes an ideal jumping-off point for exploring the ancient sites and spectacular landscape not only of the Mani itself but the whole of the southern Peloponnese: the ruins of classical Greek city of Messene (a less crowded Olympia), the Byzantine capital, Mystra, Sparta, and the Venetian towns of Monemvasia, Methoni and Koroni. Kalamata, Greece’s third city, a major shopping and artistic centre with a thriving port and airport directly connected in summers to the rest of Europe, is an hour’s drive away, over the mountains and along the deep blue Messinean gulf. A recently built toll motorway links Kalamata to Athens in a three hour drive.
