Alagonia, Messinia

Alagonia (formerly Sitsova [3]) is one of the villages of northwestern Taygetos. It was renamed from Sitsova to Alagonia in 1927. From January 1, 2011, based on the Kallikratis Program, it is a local community of the Municipal Unit of Kalamata of the municipality of Kalamata in the regional unit of Messinia.

Position

It is located in the central hydrological basin of the river Nedontas and is built amphitheatrically on the slope of the mountain range of Malevos or Agios Panteleimon, which is one of the many reefs of Taygetos.

It has an altitude of 799 [4] -800 [5] meters above sea level. We meet the village, 5 km after the bypass, of the national road Kalamata - Sparta and at the height of the village Artemisia. The road is paved. At 2 km there is the village of Piges (Mikri Anastasova) and after 3 km the traveler arrives in Alagonia. Immediately after and at a higher level is its main settlement called Mahalas, which has an altitude of 845 meters. In recent years, for the access to Alagonia by car, another detour of the national road Kalamata - Sparta is used, from the 20th kilometer, shortening the route considerably.
Extent and population (census 1928 - 2011)

The Local Community of Alagonia has an area of ​​22,093 acres. Although in the 1928 census it had 941 people, in the 2011 census it appears with only 176 inhabitants.

The evolution of the population from 1928 to 2011 is shown in the following table:
Communities / D. apartments Acres 1928 1940 1951 1981 1991 2001 2011
Sitsova (Alagonia) 22093 941 1029 940 335 410 360 176

History

Main article: Alagonia (ancient city)

In the eighth century during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Constantine V, with the descent of the Slavs in the Peloponnese, the villages of Taygetos received a significant new population and took Slavic names. The village was renamed Sitsova and the area of ​​ancient Denthaliatida was renamed by the Slavic Milingos to Koutsaves, or Koutsava, which means "area" and the inhabitants of all the settlements that were created (Megali Anastasova, Mikri Anastasova, Sitsova Latsa, Chernitsa, Koutsavas Karvelis) were called Koutsavites, names which are informally used to this day.

From the 8th century until the 13th century it was a settlement of the Koutsavas and belonged administratively to Messinia.

From the 13th century, during the Frankish period, until 27-12-1836, it was a settlement of the Swimming Pool Villages of the Province of Mystras (Lakedaimonos), which included the settlements: Kato Mahalas (today's Kato Meria), Chora, Apano Mahalas (today's Apano Meria) and Pera Mahalas (today's Mahalas).

From 28-12-1836 to 30-8-1912, together with Mahalas, they were a settlement of the Municipality of Alagonia in the Province of Kalamon in the Prefecture of Messinia. As a village, it was the seat of the municipality from 28-12-1836 to 3-3-1841, from 26-6-1863 to 14-2-1875 and from 26-11-1879 to 5-12-1907.

From 31-8-1912 to 31-12-1998, it was together with Mahala an autonomous Community of the Province of Kalamon of the Prefecture of Messinia.

In 1927 it was decided to rename the Municipalities and Communities that had Slavic names and to replace them with the names of ancient cities or historical place names that had been forgotten over time. Thus, Sitsova by Decree (which was published in Government Gazette A 306 / 22-12-1927) was renamed Alagonia, although its position according to Pausanias is not identical with that of the ancient city.

Determining precisely the geographical location of Alagonia, Pausanias writes in chapter twenty-five of C! His book reads as follows: Alagonia and the polis have already been distributed and this Eleftherolakosin. " In other words, Alagonia is thirty steps away from the Greenland to the Mediterranean and uphill part of the country and included this city in the list of cities that make up the Commonwealth of Freedoms.

If we now take into account that the village of Kambos is now located in the place of ancient Gerinia, then the ancient Alagonia, which was thirty steps (five kilometers) from the mainland to the Mediterranean, must probably be placed in the place where the village of Centro is today. (formerly Biliva Gaitse) of the former Municipality of Avia (formerly Gaitse).

From 1-1-1999 to 31-12-2010, with the implementation, the Kapodistrias Program was together with the settlement of Mahala, Local Department of the former Municipality of Kalamata.

From 1-1-2011 with the Kallikratis Program, it is a Community of the Municipal Unit of Kalamata of the Municipality of Kalamata, based in Kalamata.

Sights

The church of Agios Sozontos (9th century),
The church of Agios Nikolaos Mesorougas (15th century) and next to it the house of Patriarch Pelekasis,
The church of Agios Nikolaos Kato Meria (approximately 1700),
The parish church of the Assumption of the Virgin (1845) and
The temple of the Assumption of Christ in Mahalas, in which the wood-carved iconostasis stands out.

At a distance of about a thousand meters from the village square (a route that can only be reached on foot) there is a landscape with large rocks, tall plane trees, plenty of water and a small waterfall. These are the traditional Nika fountain and the Loukas location.
Potato feast

In the old days, Alagonia was famous for the good quality of potatoes which it produced in large quantities in the potato fields of Taygetos. On the first Saturday after the 15th of August every year, the potato festival takes place. Free potatoes are served prepared in all ways. The celebration is framed with artistic events.
Prominent residents

Ecumenical Patriarch Prokopios (1734-1803 or 1814), Bishop Methonios Parthenios Psomas [6] (16th century), the educator, local benefactor and important figure of Kalamata in the first half of the 20th century] were born in Alagonia [7] , the metropolitan of Nikopolis and Preveza Meletios Kalamaras (1933 - 2012) and the president of the Supreme Court, during the period 1985 - 1989, Antonios Stasinos.
See also

Audience of the Eleftherolakons
Denthalitis
Kalamata
Municipality of Kalamata
Administrative division of the prefecture of Messinia
Municipality of Kalamata (Kapodistrias program)

Bibliography

Antonios Nikolaou Masouridis, High School Principal, Administrative Advisor of the State Share Fund. Employees, 1936, reprint 1994 by the Artemisia Association of Athens - Piraeus "ALAGONIAKA" (Sources and Aids on page 422).
"Alagonia and Alagonians" Volume I & II. Agisilaou Kalamara. Published by the association of Alagonians of Kalamata. Kalamata 2001. Bibliography on page 10.
"Messinia" Kalamata 1995. Dimitris Dion. Stamatopoulos, philologist and former director of the Lyceum
"Messinian 1969-1970" Mimi I. Feretou. Published 1972 by "Aristomenis" Mavromichali 9 Athens. Encyclopedia "Alagonia" pages 228-240 and "Sitsova" pages 435.
"West in Taygetos" volume I & II and Bibliography p. 344. George Petrakos
"Life in Kalamata and its region" (the Greek province) 1918-1943 ". Published in 2001. Taki (Dim) P. Hiourea, president of S.E.
"Behind Mystras / Historically t. A.". Elias Ath. Lazarou, Sminarchou (TYE) e.a.,
GI Petrakos, "Places of Peace and Tranquility"

References

Postal Code - Alagonia Messinia
Telephone codes of Greece, Zone 27: Kalamata: 27210 - 27211.
By Decree which was published in the Official Gazette A.306 / 22-12-1927.
Alagonia buk.gr
Alagonia terrabook.com
Doukaki, Dimitriou Chr. (1905). Messinian and the same about Faros and Kalamata from ancient times to Kapodistriou. Γ΄. In Athens: From the A. Kalaraki Printing House. p. 273. [dead link]

Solaris, Ioannis (2014). Kalamata 1830-1930: the changing face of a provincial city from the founding of the independent Greek state until the interwar period. Kalamata: University of Peloponnese, Doctoral Thesis. pp. 259 - 260. [dead link]

External links

Municipality of Kalamata, the official website of the Municipality of Kalamata.
Website for Alagonia

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