The Mani

These are photos of Kardamyli and the surrounding area of the Mani in the southern Peloponnese. This is a very remote, barren area, almost cut off from the rest of the peninsula by the Taygetos mountain range and hemmed in by the sea. According to Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, the inhabitants of this area believe themselves to be descendants of ancient Spartans, who took refuge here after Sparta was sacked by the Visigoths in 396 AD.

Leigh Fermor, who spent many years at his house in Kardamyli, also mentions that descendants of the family of Palaeologos settled here after the fall of the rest of the Morea (Peloponnese) to the Ottomans in 1461. A Michael Palaeologos is mentioned as living in the area in 1482 and he had 3 sons Panayioti, Dimitri and Tzanetto, from whom several local families claim descent.

In my trilogy of historical novels set during the last years of the Byzantine Empire, I have suggested that this Michael is the son of John, son of Andronikos, who was one of the brothers of the last Emperor, Constantine Palaeologos.

The first 2 books are now available on Amazon.