Overview

Kalamata, the regional capital of Messinia, is the perfecture's and southern Greece's largest port. During the Byzantine and post-Byzantine era the town experienced tremendous growth. It was a sleepy port during the Ottoman occupation and a major revolutionary hub after the 1821 Greek revolution.

Kalamata features numerous monuments, such as the the Agioi Apostoloi Cathedral where Greek patriots first took arms and vowed to die for independence, on March 23 1821, and where the first revolutionary proclamation towards the Western Powers was drafted.