Mikros Pyrgos: beautifully located villa with private pool & fabulous sea views

This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom traditional stone villa is situated just outside the medieval mountain village of Proastio, on the Mani peninsula above 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 ‘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 washing machine. With a log-burning fireplace to keep it warm in winter and a high roof of exposed rafters 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, music system 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, away from neighbours but within a few minutes’ walk, on traffic-free lanes, of the village square, ancient churches, café bar and basic village store.
The picturesque seaside village of Kardamyli is less than 10 minutes drive, with three supermarkets, a post office, ATMs and a range of interesting shops. It has a number of excellent tavernas and restauarants (Try Lela’s by the waterside at sunset or the Diaskouri fish taverna overlooking the harbour which are particular favourites).

Set in country ideal for walking, whether a ramble on ancient paths ("kalderini") to discover the orchids, wildflowers and Byzantine churches, or hiking in the Taygetos mountains behind, and with easy access to the sea, in 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 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, Methone and Koroni. Kalamata, Greece’s third city, a major shopping and artistic centre with a thriving port and airport directly connected to the rest of Europe, is an hour’s drive away over the mountains and along the deep blue Messinean gulf.