The Southwest Bastion and the "Stellakis" House

On the eastern edge of the square stands the house with the garden containing the remains of the early Byzantine church. The western end of the square is formed by two houses. One of these reaches all the way to the southern wall. It has a barrel vaulted balcony over the path that leads along the south wall. There is also a passage on the ground floor that leads through the house (see plate 22). Named after its former owner, this structure is known as the "Stellakis" house. We will treat it after the description of the way to the southwest bastion.

Following along the south wall, we come to the southwest bastion (see plate 8), which the Venetians rebuilt as a tower after their conquest in 1690. Later this was destroyed and then rebuilt again as a bastion. A sentry box with a handsome cupola projects from the bastion, and provides an excellent view up along the west wall. During the last years the southwestern parts of the lower town have changed from a field of ruins into a diligently reconstructed quarter.

The "Stellakis" house was reconstructed as well. Its location, the beauty of its architectural details, and the information it provides about the appearance and character of the medieval town, make the "Stellakis" house one of the most interesting of patrician residences in Monemvasia. The house was actually built over three of the town's most important transportation arteries. The balcony arches over the path that leads along the south wall. A second street that runs parallel to the south wall, beginning from the square in the southwestern quarter of the lower town (Dothe Tapia), forms a passage that leads through the ground floor of the house. This passage joins the passage of another street that leads from the main street down to the south wall. This intersection forms a T shaped passage beneath the building. The main part of the house lies directly over the junction of these two streets. Two wings are attached at right angles to the central portion of the structure, and thus span and surround the street which leads uphill. Another house north of the "Stellakis" house has an archway over the street leading uphill. This archway encloses the street and gives the effect of creating an inner courtyard (see plate 23). A stairway leads from this "inner court" up into the superstructure of the building.

The house was plastered during it's reconstruction. It is mainly built out of unhewn rubble, but it has numerous beautiful square hewn stone edgings. These include the round arched entrance doorstead; the bounding arches of the windows across from the entrance door, which encloses two smaller arches separated by a column; the windows with the beautiful Renaissance frame, located in the side wing with the entrance door; the windows that look out onto the square; and the edgings on the seaward side of the central structure of the house. Within the side wing opposite the entrance door there is a handsome wall niche with a pointed cusped arch, a detail typical of Venetian flamboyant style (see plate 24, before the reconstruction). From the square we were able to see the well hewn corbels that support the semicircular base plate of the chimney (see plate 22).

In comparison to ruins and to other reconstructed buildings, this house clearly is one of the most beautiful and most interesting structures in the lower town. The State Archaeological Service, the Office of Building Permits and the architects diligently ensured that the reconstruction - though regarding the needs of modern life style - did not make any changes that detract from the appearance of the building, or destroy the character of the courtyard formed by the junction of the street passage beneath the house. Today the "Stellakis" house is the best example in Monemvasia of the problem of the shortage of space for construction, and the resulting need to erect structures over the streets themselves.

The path from the "Stellakis" house through the western portion of the lower town leads uphill via the street that has the appearance of an inner courtyard. Along the way we pass beneath a house built over the street; just after that we come to a double church on the right hand side of the street (Hagios Demetrios and Hagios Antonios). If we turn left at the first opportunity, walk through a passageway, and then immediately turn right, we arrive at the street that leads back to the church of Christos Elkomenos. Approaching the back of the former mosque from this direction it is easy to see that this structure was once a cupolated cruciform church. Today this aspect is not visible from the main square, due to numerous additions and alterations.