Kalamata Castle: Stranger than fiction

The heroine of the well-known historical novel is none other than princess Isabella of Villehardouin, granddaughter of the Frankish prince Geoffrey I Villehardouin, who founded the principality of Achaia at the beginning of the 13th century. The novel is set in the Middle Ages, a turbulent period during which Kalamata experienced its greatest prosperity.

The castle, situated on a low rocky hill on the north-western side of the town, was built over the ruins of the acropolis of Pharai, an ancient city founded by Pharis, a mythical hero of Argos, offering magnificent views over the Messenian Gulf. However, its present form is clearly due to Geoffrey I Villehardouin.

After a turbulent history marked by numerous dynastic disputes and rival claims, the Byzantines of the Despotate of Mystras became the masters of the Castle of Kalamata in 1410. In 1460, Mehmed II the Conqueror captured the fortress, finally driving out the Palaiologoi of Mystras for good.