Porto Kagio or Porto Káyio (Πόρτο Κάγιο) is a seaside village in the East Mani municipality on the eastern side of the Mani Peninsula,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It faces a small bay off the

Laconian Gulf The Laconian Gulf ( el, Λακωνικός Κόλπος, translit=Lakonikos Kolpos), is a gulf in the south-eastern Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the southernmost gulf in Greece and the largest in the Peloponnese. In the shape of an inverted "U ...

and is about three miles north of

Cape Matapan Cape Matapan ( el, Κάβο Ματαπάς, Maniot dialect: Ματαπά), also named as Cape Tainaron or Taenarum ( el, Ακρωτήριον Ταίναρον), or Cape Tenaro, is situated at the end of the Mani Peninsula, Greece. Cape Matap ...

, the southernmost tip of the Mani Peninsula and of mainland Greece.

History

The site was that of the ancient port of

Psamathous Psamathus or Psamathous ( grc, Ψαμαθοῦς), called by Strabo Amathus or Amathous (Ἀμαθοῦς), was a harbour of ancient Laconia. The ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' places it back to back (ἀντίπυλος) with the harbour of Achill ...

, mentioned by

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

. The modern name comes from the Venetian ''Porto Quaglio'' and the French (Frankish) ''Port des Cailles'' (Quail Port).Paul Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History 1300-362 BC'', 2013,
p. 19
/ref> Some 17th- and 18th-century maps called it "Maina", so some authors consider it to be a possible location for the castle of Grand Magne, but medieval

portolan Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian ''portulano'', meaning "related to ports or harbors", and wh ...

s mention no such castle here. The Ottomans built a castle here in about 1568, to protect the port, which was used for

galleys A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be use ...

patrolling the

Kythera Channel Kythira Strait (also Kythirian Straits, Kythira–Antikythira Strait or Kithera Channel) is a waterway off Kythira in Southern Greece. The Kythira–Antikythira Strait is situated within the Western Hellenic arc. It measures approximately in leng ...

. The Venetians attacked the castle in 1570, and the Ottomans surrendered and abandoned it.J. M. Wagstaff, "Further Observations on the Location of Grand Magne", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 45:141-148 (1991) In 1670, the Ottomans returned and built a new castle. They were driven out in 1770 during the Orlov Revolt. Porto Kagio was the base of

Lambros Katsonis Lambros Katsonis ( el, Λάμπρος Κατσώνης; russian: Ламброс Кацонис; 1752–1805) was a Greek privateer of the 18th century who would ultimately sail under the Russian flag with the rank of colonel. He became a knight o ...

's pirate fleet, and it was at Porto Kagio that it was finally destroyed. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Porto Kagio was a place where many

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soldiers escaped to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Description

Porto Kagio is a peaceful village whose main economy is tourism. It has 35 hotel rooms distributed on 4 different businesses

Notes

{{Authority control Populated places in the Mani Peninsula Populated places in Laconia