Problems of Town Planning in the Middle Ages

The settlement began on the tableland above the rocky cliffs, and continued with the construction of houses at the base of the cliffs, in front of the ascent to the plateau. In this manner an upper town and a lower town came into being.

The construction of walls around the houses of the faubourg made it possible to live in either the upper or lower town, even during times of war and siege. However, the fortifications meant that the lower town now had the same problem of all medieval walled cities: its possibilities for expansion were severely limited. There were two alternative solutions to this problem: either build new city walls to enclose a larger area, or build taller buildings, in some cases actually over the narrow streets. Monemvasia chose the latter, more individualistic solution. This was also the more convenient solution, for expansion through construction on the plateau itself would have posed growing difficulties in the transportation of merchandise and food.

This resolution of the problem of medieval urban expansion placed an individual imprint on the city. The tall buildings, the narrow streets, and the many superstructures built on arches over the streets gave the cityscape a special character. In comparison to private residences, only warehouses and churches occupied somewhat larger tracts of land. So did the desperately needed cisterns, as far as they were in public possession. By contrast, the city's plazas were rather small for the size of the medieval population.

The present reconstruction within the city has generally been faithful to the original appearance of the houses, but it has not rebuilt the superstructures over the streets. Sometimes it was impossible to do so because the house across the street had already been rebuilt, or because it still lay in ruin; mainly the superstructures were omitted simply because the limitation of building sites no longer existed, and there was thus no need to grant licenses for mutual support of properties erected over the streets.