Spitali is a small village 17 km west of Kalamata. In the village there are some ruins of medieval buildings and fortifications which are from the period of Frankokratia (Frankish occupation).

History

When the rule of the Princilaity of Achaea began in 1209, Peloponnese was divided in many baronies. Three of them were monastic. One of the monastic baronies was the one of the Order of Saint John who got 4 fiefs, one of them in Spitali.

This was the same monastic order which later, in 1309, conquered Rhodes and prevailed in Dodecanese. In the Peloponnese of the 13th century the knights of the Order were known as Ospitali (from the Fraternitas Hospitalaria in the latin name of the Order ). Obviously, this is how the village got its name.

We can assume (since there is no other information) that the castle of Spitali was built during that period, when it first became a possession of the Ioannites.

The knights stayed in the area until the beginning of the 15th century. After 1427 the entire Peloponnese was captured by the Despotate of Mystras. Then, in 1460, the Ottoman conquest happened. It seems that the castle was not used by the Turks and was abandoned rather soon.

Sources