Ruins of a post-Byzantine monastic tower on the western slopes of mount Taygetos, 70 meters from the monastery of Dimiova and one kilometer east of Elaiochori (old name: Giannitsa) in Messinia.

History

According to the historian Dimitrios Doukakis (1905), the monastery is built on the site of the medieval village of Armitsa. The area was once ruled by a certain “Rigas” who was the lord of the fief that included the villages of Dikalo, Marmara, Sola, Agiannis, Agourva and Armitsa. None of these villages survive.

However, this information belongs to the realm of folklore tradition without being verified and without enlightening us about the period in which the said Rigas lived.
What we do know is that the first valid testimonies for the existence of the monastery exist only in the 17th century from patriarchal documents, where it is characterized as “stavropegial” (i.e. that it falls directly under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople).

The monastery is famous for its miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary. The catholicon was painted in 1663. The monastery was destroyed by the Turks during the Orlof events, in 1770. It reopened after the liberation, in 1837, when the icon was returned there.

The monastery had two towers for its defense.
The one to the left of the church was built in 1723 and demolished in 1860. The other, which survives just outside the monastery, was built in 1717 and is the tower on this page, the “Rigas tower”.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The Rigas Tower and the Monastery of Dimiova suffered major damage in the 1986 Kalamata earthquake. The damage to the monastery was repaired, but not to the tower.

A large part of the tower has collapsed, but its ruins are still visible at some height. It is almost square with side dimensions of about 7 m. It must have been in much better condition before 1986.

Adjacent to the tower are remains of other buildings, which may be newer. The overall layout and masonry with the rifle slots and the openings at low height indicate post-Byzantine use, which is consistent with the dating of the construction in 1717.

Sources