Dandy Villas are pleased to present their new acquisition: the towering Zoakon, in Nomia, in the rugged Mani of the Peloponnese.

The house is a living memory of all the experiences of the owner family and their descendants.

Continuing the description, we will try to convey the climate of the time, the particularities of the house, the hidden spots, those that, in our opinion, deserve to be illuminated.

Entering the house, you will meet the fireplace, the so-called photo corner, where the family used to cook the everyday simple and unnecessary food. The low openings of the corridors and even the towers had one purpose: to make it difficult for the unexpected visitor to enter easily, to be forced to stoop and therefore become a burden in the hands of the hosts. If the hosts wanted to welcome him, it is good, otherwise, every unexpected visitor was expelled badly.

After the photo corner, ie the fireplace, through a low – be careful here – arch you find the kitchen, the main toilet, bathroom and the first bedroom that leads to the stone-built courtyard with the pond – jacuzzi so you can cool off and enjoy a modern comfort in such an old building, tying – as we believe – harmoniously yesterday with today.

The floors are connected as in the old days, through wooden stairs, the “waterfalls”, so called because they are steep enough to gain space for the main house, the rooms. Going up to the first floor you will find the living room with two armchairs that can be turned into a bed and a small toilet.

From the living room you can go out to the large balcony with the dining room for morning coffee, lunch or dinner.

Further up on the second floor you will find the second bedroom with its own toilet.

The front doors of the houses remain inside the courtyard, guarded. It was forbidden to be accessible from the street or from an alley. A necessary condition on the one hand, for the “enemy” not to be easily accessible and on the other hand, so that the strong wind does not enter the house.

We welcome you to the wild, unique place of Mani that gladly welcomes strong and adventurous travelers. You, be ready for powerful experiences, unforgettable memories, going back in time and space.

Welcome to a place with a strong history, emotions and experiences!

ΝΟΤΕ: Jacuzzi operating period May-October

Dandy Villas Tower House is located in Nomia, in the majestic Mani of the Peloponnese. A unique vernacular architectural work, a stone-built construction influenced by similar Venetian architectural works, which the Manitian soldiers adopted in their area – after their stay by the Italian army.

It is one of the 800+ towers recognized internationally by Unesco as cultural heritage sites. Unfortunately, about 300 of the 800 towers have already become ruins that cannot be saved anymore.

Our tower, the Tower of Nikolaos Zoakos, affectionately known in the area as the Tower of Zoans, was built in the 17th century. It is 12 meters high and spans 3 levels: ground floor, first floor and second floor, with the master bedroom on the top floor communicating with the roof where the infamous cannons were set up.

There, therefore, in this war tower lived Zoakos himself with his family: his 5 children, 3 sons and 2 daughters.

The tower house has on its outer sides – under the west and east windows – the well-known Maniac “zematistras or katachiustras” which could revive in wartime the habit of women taking matters into their own hands and attacking the enemy by flying from hot oil or water.

So simple, so efficient.

And the enemy? Where it goes, it goes…

In the tower house of Zoaki you will see the well-known “ntoufekotroupes” (embrasures / loopholes), signs of the perpetual preparation of the people of Mani for war. They remind us that in the minds and hearts of all the people of Mani freedom was, is and will be the highest ideal.

In Mani they did not only love freedom. They loved and respected the woman, the mother, so Mani was proven to be a matriarchal society.

The owner of the house, Zoakos’s wife, was honored, due to her special temperament and her dynamism, a member of the Gerontiki, the informal council that resolved the disputes of the people of Mani, in the absence of official courts at the time.

The Zoak family belonged to the order of the Soulides, a so-called upper class that is said to have had their roots in the Komnenians of Byzantium. The Soilides had the right to use weapons and live in tower houses, while the “ahamnoi”, the humblest class who worked for them, did not.

LOCATION

Tower houses, castle-states, ancient cities, lake caves, and beaches. In the Peloponnese, the Mani of history and stone will fascinate you.

Landscape arid, rough. Houses reminiscent of towers, stone settlements, Byzantine churches, small coves and shocking caves. Mani. A closed, litigious society, organized for centuries along the lines of blood and lineage. Encamped on the steep slopes of southern Taygetus and constantly ready for war, the Maniates developed a very strong sense of autonomy. What the visitor sees today is what he is allowed to see… And he insatiably absorbs images of an authentic Greece, because in this corner of the Peloponnese , at the southernmost tip of Europe, everything is unique and magical at the same time.

DISTANCES

Athens 314 km

Kalamata 100 km

Sparta 79 km

Areopolis 20 km

Gerolimenas 5 km

Look 1.2 km

Itilo 30 km