The Building

The Centre of Information and Interpretation of Eastern Mani is housed at the old Girls’ Schoolin Gytheio. It is a one floor listed building, at Panagiotarou Venetsanaki square, in the heart of Gytheio.

The Girls’ School as well as the other neoclassical buildings of Gytheio is evidence of the economic and cultural prosperity of the area. These buildings are representative of a period when the city was called the showcase of Laconia and have been characterized as listed historical monuments by the Ministry of Culture. Two other examples of the architectural style of the time are the Town Hall (1891) and the Chamber of Commerce of Laconia.

It is a 19th century building, erected in 1886. Representative of the neoclassical style that was characteristic of most of the towns that were built after the establishment of the modern Greek state, it was constructed according to the symmetry rules followed in the public buildings of the time. According to these rules, which were under Western European influence, the entrance stands out and there is a crest over it. On the façade, on either side of the entrance, there are three pairs of windows each with a slightly curved lintel. The central section, through a small arcade, leads to a rectangular atrium that leads to two arches with columns and successive plaster frames. From the atrium you can enter the halls of the building….