Mani Peninsula
The Mani Peninsula is a geographical and cultural region of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. It is often referred to as Mani or "the Mani". The inhabitants of Mani are known as Maniots. Mani and the Maniots played a key role in the Greek War of Independence that began in 1821.
The Mani is the central of the three peninsulas extending southwards from the Peloponnese into the Mediterranean Sea. To Mani's east lie the Laconian Gulf and the peninsula of Cape Maleas, and to its west, the Messenian Gulf and the peninsula of Messenia. The Mani Peninsula is the southern extension of the Taygetus mountain range. It is about long, with a rocky, rugged, interior bordered by scenic coastlines. Mani terminates at Cape Matapan, the southernmost point of continental Greece.
In ancient times, Mani was considered part of Laconia, a region dominated by the powerful city-state of Sparta. Its administration is now divided between the municipalities of East Mani in modern Laconia, and West Mani in Messenia. Mani's towns include Areopoli, Gytheio, and Pyrgos Dirou. Notable sites in Mani include the ruins of the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Matapan, the Monastery of Panayia Yiatrissa, and the Apidima Cave with its Neanderthal fossils.
File:Map of Greece.jpg|thumb|Lying due south of Sparta, Mani is the central of three peninsulas extending into the Mediterranean Sea.|alt=Map of Greece showing major cities, parts of surrounding countries, and water bodies
Mani was known as for its numerous tower-houses. From 1978 onwards, the Greek state decreed many settlements with tower-houses "traditional", setting restrictions on construction. In 2003, the whole peninsula was designated a "cultural complex of international importance".
Name
The origin of the name "Mani" is uncertain. The earliest known record is a reference to the bishop of a dioceseὁ Μαΐνης in a hierarchical list of dioceses deposited in the archives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 907. Compiled during the reign of Emperor Leo VI, it shows Maïna's bishop as subordinate to the metropolitan of Corinth. In around 950, Constantine VII mentioned the inhabitants of a "city of Maïna" in his treatise De Administrando Imperio.The 14th-century Greek-text version of the Chronicle of Morea narrates how William of Villehardouin, ruler of the Principality of Achaea, journeyed εἰς τὴν Μάνην and built a castle he named Μάνη on a promontory there. The castle is more usually known as Grand Magne.
Ecology
The Mani is in the Aegean and Western Turkey Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests ecoregion, which is part of a biome known as Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub.Governance
The southern part of the peninsula, covering about, is a Special Protection Area within the Natura 2000 network. This SPA was designated in 2010 under the Birds Directive of the European Union; it protects 72 bird species. The protected area is an important habitat for migrating raptors, notably Bonelli's eagle, the short-toed snake eagle, the lanner falcon, and the rare eastern imperial eagle.Geology
The Mani is a peninsula with Cape Matapan forming its southern tip. The massif of the Taygetus range, about long, extends from the centre of the Peloponnese to Cape Matapan. The peninsula is composed of Mesozoic-era carbonate rocks, such as limestone, which erode to form karst caves such as the one at Alepotrypa.Shallow lithosols and rendzina soils, with a low capacity for holding water, dominate on limestone bedrock. Terra rossa, a water-retentive, clayey soil with a deeper profile, is common in cultivated areas. Alluvial soils are found in river valleys, and saline soils in coastal environments.
The tallest mountain in the Taygetus range is Mount Taygetus. Its summit, , stands at, and is the highest in the Peloponnese. Some historians identify with the "Taletum, a peak of Taygetus" mentioned by Pausanias.
Land cover and vegetation
Vegetation in the Mani occupies a range of natural, semi-natural and human-made habitats with a high diversity of species.File:Acinos-alpinus.jpg|thumb|Rock thyme in an alpine plant community
Communities of low-growing alpine plants thrive above the tree line of the Taygetus range: examples are Clinopodium alpinum ; Astragalus angustifolius ; and the rare Jurinea taygetea, an endemic species in the Jurinea genus. Montane forests dominated by Abies cephalonica and Pinus nigra occur at moderate elevations.
File:Euphorbia_acanthothamnos_RF.jpg|thumb|Greek spiny spurge, found in garrigue habitats
Maquis, a type of impenetrable scrubland made up of evergreen, hard-leaved shrubs about tall, is widespread on lower mountain slopes. Typical species are Arbutus unedo, Pistacia lentiscus, Quercus coccifera, and Smilax aspera. Garrigue, a more open vegetation type, is also found over large areas at lower altitudes. This habitat features aromatic, shrubby plants, usually less than high, such as Sarcopoterium spinosum, Euphorbia acanthothamnos, Thymus capitatus, and Anthyllis hermanniae. Olive groves on the lower slopes and in the coastal plain of Messenian Mani are mainly cultivated without the use of herbicides; the groves provide habitats for many spring-flowering annual plants.
The Vyros Gorge hosts several endemic species, including Lithodora zahnii of the genus Lithodora, and Thalictrum orientale.
Mani's rocky shores and sandy beaches, a specific habitat, feature plants such as Matthiola sinuata, Limonium sinuatum, and Pancratium maritimum. Posidonia oceanica is found offshore.
Climate
The Mani peninsula, like much of southern Greece, has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate featuring mild to cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The Messenian, or Outer, Mani receives more rainfall than the Laconian, or Inner and Lower, Mani, which is in a rain shadow; as a consequence, Outer Mani is more agriculturally productive. Locals call Messenian Mani and Laconian Mani .Local government and services
Local government is provided by the municipalities of West Mani, and East Mani. Each municipality is headed by a mayor, who governs with the aid of a municipal council.West Mani, with its administrative seat in Kardamyli, is part of the regional unit of Messenia; East Mani, whose administrative seat is Gytheio, is in Laconia.
Messenia and Laconia are within the Peloponnese administrative region.
Traditional regions
The three traditional regions of Mani are:- Outer Mani in the northwest, corresponding approximately to West Mani;
- Lower Mani in the east, corresponding approximately to northern East Mani;
- Inner Mani in the southwest, corresponding approximately to southern East Mani.
Media
Local newspapers covering events in Mani include:- Lakonikos, an online newspaper focused on Laconia;
- Messinia Press, an online newspaper with a section on West Mani;
- Notos Press, an online newspaper covering the Peloponnese Region;
- Θάρρος, a daily print and online newspaper focused on Messenia, with a section on West Mani.
Transport links
Roads
A winding road with coastal stretches links Kalamata, via Kampos, Kardamyli and Stoupa, to Oitylo, from where a cross-peninsular road runs northeast to Gytheio. From Oitylo, the road continues south towards Cape Matapan via Areopoli, Gerolimenas and Vatheia, looping back north to Gytheio along the east coast via Kokkala, Kotronas and Skoutari. Another cross-peninsular road runs southeast from Areopoli to Kotronas.From Gytheio, National Road 39 runs north to Sparta. Gytheio can be reached from Kalamata from the north by using the toll road motorways A7 and A71; the A7 connects with National Road 39.
Paths
The Peloponnese section of the E4 European long-distance path runs via Sparta and Kastania to Gytheio in northeast Mani, and then continues, via ferry, in Crete.Ferries
Ferries connect Gytheio to Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, and Piraeus, the port of Athens.Airport
is near Kalamata, which is adjacent to West Mani.Towns and settlements
Modern
Ancient
Notable sites and features
History
Prehistory
Palaeolithic to Neolithic
Mani has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Apidima Cave on the west side of the peninsula has yielded Neanderthal and Homo sapiens fossils from the Palaeolithic era., a Homo sapiens skull recovered from Apidima, dating to at least 210,000 years before present, is the earliest evidence of modern humans in Europe. Neolithic remains have been found on Mani's coast in the Alepotrypa Cave, a major settlement, cemetery and ceremonial site, and human and Neanderthal remains in the Kalamakia Cave, a Middle Palaeolithic site. The Lakonis I site, a collapsed Middle Palaeolithic cave on the coast near Gytheio, contains evidence of Neanderthals' use of fire to dispose of bones and other food refuse.Evidence of extensive Neolithic and early Bronze Age occupation and activity extending north and south of the Bay of Oitylo has been found at many other cave sites.