The Main Square (Platia Dşami)
If we follow the main street to the east, we shortly come to the tower of the church of Christos Elkomenos (Christ in Bonds). This tower is so prominent, that it is always easy to locate the main square. Just a few steps from the main street is the church square with its trees and its cannon aimed down toward the sea.
To the east of the square stands the church itself; to the north stands the church tower, fashioned after an Italian campanile. Behind the tower stand the houses of the main street, and set off against the sky, the fortified cliffs of the upper town. To the south the view opens up to lower lying parts of the lower town, and to the sea. Far off to the southwest Cape Kamili and Cape Malea disappear on the horizon.
Between the church of Christos Elkomenos and the retaining wall to the south stands the espiscopal residence. It is built onto the church, arching over a passage that runs along the side of the church. Above the entrance there is a marble bas relief of the lion of St. Mark, the heraldic animal of Venice. It has been painted a chalk color, and is badly weathered. Formerly, the espiscopal residence was a monastery, associated with the church of Christos Elkomenos.
To the west of the square stands a square building that has served various functions. Built in the sixteenth century as the church of Hagios Petros, the Turks later remodeled it into a mosque. Later on it became a prison and at the beginning of the twentieth century it was a coffee room. But today the residents of Monemvasia still refer to the building as "Dşami" (mosque). This building, and not the large church, gives the square its name: Platia Dşami. In the large, domed room (see the view on the impressive cupola in plate 26) there is a very remarkable exhibition of examples out of Monemvasia's archaeological collection. The structural changes in the building, consequences of different usage during the centuries, can be seen very clearly in the interior of the building with its impressive dimensions and its marvellous proportions. In the middle of the room an aerial photo shows a bird's-eye view of the entire rock with its important houses, churches and fortifications. Excellent exhibits among others are the iconostasis of a church dating back to the 10th century, pieces of marble from Hagia Sophia and the old Venetian well curb of 1511 with the coats of arms of two former podestas, Sebastiano Renier and Antonio Garzoni.
The cannon on the main square, aimed out to the sea, bears the date 1763, and also a Roman numeral. This is obviously not a weapon left from the Turkish occupation as some guide books would have us believe. Possibly the Albanians brought it to Monemvasia in connection with the Orlov Revolt of 1770. So far it has not been possible to locate the origin of the piece by using the foundry mark "VB". In front of the cannon is a whitewashed well curb with an attached bench. This offers access to the cistern under the square. Rainwater from the roof of the church of Christos Elkomenos supplies the cistern (see plate 16).
