Mani Peninsula

The Mani Peninsula is a geographical and cultural region of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. It is often referred to as Mani (Greek: Μάνη) or "the Mani". The inhabitants of Mani are known as Maniots (Mανιάτες, Maniátes). Mani and the Maniots played a key role in the Greek War of Independence that began in 1821.

The Mani is the central of the three peninsulas extending southwards from the Peloponnese into the Mediterranean Sea. To Mani's east lie the Laconian Gulf and the peninsula of Cape Maleas, and to its west, the Messenian Gulf and the peninsula of Messenia. The Mani Peninsula is the southern extension of the Taygetus mountain range. It is about 45 km (28 mi) long, with a rocky, rugged, interior bordered by scenic coastlines. Mani terminates at Cape Matapan, the southernmost point of continental Greece.

In ancient times, Mani was considered part of Laconia, a region dominated by the powerful city-state (polis) of Sparta. Its administration is now divided between the municipalities of East Mani in modern Laconia, and West Mani in Messenia. Mani's towns include Areopoli, Gytheio, and Pyrgos Dirou. Notable sites in Mani include the ruins of the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Matapan, the Monastery of Panayia Yiatrissa, and the Apidima Cave with its Neanderthal fossils.

Mani was known as Maina Polypyrgos ('Many-Towered Maina') for its numerous tower-houses. From 1978 onwards, the Greek state decreed many settlements with tower-houses "traditional", setting restrictions on construction. In 2003, the whole peninsula was designated a "cultural complex of international importance".

The origin of the name "Mani" is uncertain. The earliest known record is a reference to the bishop of a diocese – ὁ Μαΐνης (ho Maïnēs, 'the one who is [bishop] of Maïna') – in a hierarchical list of dioceses deposited in the archives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 907. Compiled during the reign of Emperor Leo VI, it shows Maïna's bishop as subordinate to the metropolitan of Corinth. In around 950, Constantine VII mentioned the inhabitants of a "city of Maïna" in his treatise De Administrando Imperio (On Administering the Empire).

The 14th-century Greek-text version of the Chronicle of Morea narrates how William of Villehardouin, ruler of the Principality of Achaea (r. 1246–1278), journeyed εἰς τὴν Μάνην (eis tēn Manēn, 'to Mani') and built a castle he named Μάνη (Manē, 'Mani') on a promontory there. The castle is more usually known as Grand Magne.

The Mani is in the Aegean and Western Turkey Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests ecoregion, which is part of a biome known as Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub.

The southern part of the peninsula, covering about 317 km² (122 sq mi), is a Special Protection Area (SPA) within the Natura 2000 network. This SPA was designated in 2010 under the Birds Directive of the European Union; it protects 72 bird species. The protected area is an important habitat for migrating raptors, notably Bonelli's eagle, the short-toed snake eagle, the lanner falcon, and the rare eastern imperial eagle.