Maniot Towers

Maniot Towers are the architectural trademark of the Mani (mainly Mesa Mani), and are also a symbol of the unusual family-based cohesion of Maniot society.

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Maniot Towers are the architectural trademark of the Mani (mainly Mesa Mani), and are also a symbol of the unusual family-based cohesion of Maniot society. Each battle tower was surrounded by lower outbuildings and was the family’s stronghold. The more powerful the family was, the taller the tower. They were built for times of war and were used against pirates and the Turks, but were also used in the famous Maniot vendettas. They are defensive-offensive buildings, without windows and with very few openings in general. They are defended with battlements and the many floors allowed the defenders to strike the attackers from above.The Maniots also built tower houses as residences. These were stone built and had three to five floors which were connected by a wooden staircase. The walls were thick, but became tinner as the tower got taller.

In the middle of the 19th century there were more than 800 battle towers in the Mani, almost all of them in Mesa Mani.

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