MONEMVASIA (Greece). “The rock. Nothing else ”. It is with these words that the Greek writer Yannis Ritsos begins his poem “Monemvasia” written in 1974. His title rightly bears the name of this medieval city located in the Peloponnesis, where he was born in 1909. The fortified city, also called “Kastro”, takes a foothold on a huge rock whose geography it seems to marry: it is divided into the high town, where Archaeological, and, below, lower city, restored in recent decades.
A cable car as an elevator
The appearance of the landscape is almost surreal. From the coast, this rocky peak with orange shades, 1.8 kilometer long and 300 meters high, appears naked, planted in the sea, as pushed out of nowhere. “The rock. Nothing else “but for how long? The decision to build a cable car at the top of the islet agitates the spirits. The inhabitants fear that this intervention comes to disfigure space and hides tourism operating projects. Their concerns exceeded the local scale: on March 18, the pan -European federation of Europa Nostra heritage protection organizations announced that it has classified Monemvasia among the seven most threatened monuments in Europe for 2025.
It all started in 2021, when the municipality acts the project “supply and installation of an elevator for the castle of Monemvasia”, which is “Designed mainly to meet the needs of Monemvasia residents and visitors, given that more than 50 % of them have difficulty accessing the castle” Due to its access route, a steep path, explains to the Journal des Arts Stavros Christakos, the deputy mayor in charge of the file. But, in 2024, when environmental studies, prerequisite for construction on this Natura 2000 site, were published and the call for tenders launched, it is the shock. As an elevator, the inhabitants discover … A cable car, amounting to 6.8 million euros, funded by European funds.
This cable car requires heavy facilities, explains Kleopatra Theologidou, restorative architect, who had access to the plans. According to this specialist in heritage conservation which worked for more than two decades at the Greek ministry of culture, “There will be two air cabins, each with a capacity of 15 people, conveying 160 people per hour. For boarding, two stations will be built: one at 150 m from the main entrance to the lower town, 29 x 16.3 m and 13.5 m high; the other in the upper town, at a short distance from the wall, measuring 17 x 9.5 m and whose height is not indicated, as well as a small house of 10 m2 »». In addition, continues that which is also a member of the board of directors of the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Culture (ELLT), it is planned to set up “3 pillars, whose foundations will exceed the ground level by 1.5 m”. If Stavros Christakos confirms that the cable car will convey 160 people per hour, it maintains that the version presented by Kleopatra Theologidou does not correspond to “The final study”. For him, “The construction received the unanimous agreement of the municipal council, the inhabitants and the association for the valuation of the castle”. On his mobile phone, he shows a 3D projection of the installation: a cabin circulates on two cables, and there is no pylon between the starting point and that of arrival. But neither the deputy mayor nor the cabinet of the Minister of Culture (who did not respond to our requests) sent us “The final study”. Would there be angle under rock?
“Permanent and serious damage”
This is what many inhabitants fear. “It’s an exaggerated project!” We have many other problems to manage ”protests the server of one of the taverns of the lower city. Kostas Kourkoulis, city resident and lawyer by profession, is a member of the Association of Friends of Monemvasia: “For an eternity, the city has faced enormous daily problems which are not resolved: the water is salty, the sewer systems are in poor condition, access to the Kastro and parking are insufficient, and even more in summer. »» Thus, while these problems are still not solved, is being promoted a cable car that “Emphasize the value of this single treasure of world cultural heritage”, Land on Anastasios Tanoulas, the president of ICOMOS in Greece, the organization which advises UNESCO on cultural and natural heritage. “This intervention will cause permanent and serious damage to the values that make Monemvasia unique, and will completely destroy the emblematic autonomy of the rocky massif overhanging the sea and the neighboring coast, thus undergoing the artistic, archaeological and historical identity of the region. »»
Because the site is a jewel that has gone through history. Its origin is an earthquake that occurred in 375 AD. The rocky island is then separated from the continent. It was not until the 6th century that Monemvasia was built by the inhabitants of ancient Laconia. They sought refuge against the Slavic invaders who dominated a large part of Greece until the 8th century. Due to its geographical position, Monemvasia is of strategic importance. It offers a point of control on the sea and an outlet on the continent. The Franks, the Venetians and the Turks will be established there in turn. After the Greeks began in March 1821 the War of Liberation of the Ottoman Empire, the first liberated castle was that of Monemvasia, on July 23, 1821.
The fear of surcourism
But little by little, the city is neglected. The upper town falls into ruins and the lower town is becoming a point in. It finds a new breath in the 20th century when a couple of architects, Haris and Alexandros Kalligas, undertakes to restore houses in the lower city with respect for traditional architecture. It became a tourist destination in the early 2000s, after the death of the national poet Yannis Ritsos, the filming of various films and series in this fortress and the development of roads making the citadel accessible. Except that with its narrow and cobbled alleys in the lower town, its steep path to win the upper city, Monemvasia remains difficult to pass. This is this point that the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni invoked before the Greek Parliament gathered, to justify the work and defend the possibility for all to access the Kastro and the Saint-Sophie church which is located there.
The explanation does not convince the local population. It even stirs up another fear: that of a broader transformation of the site under the guise of making it accessible to attract more tourists and make a small “Disneyland”, Word that comes back in a loop in the mouths. For Maria Harami, former member of the municipal council, “This project completely changes the philosophy of Monemvasia. This place allows you to be in contact with history… ” And the construction of this cable car would look like a wart posed on historical heritage. The inhabitants fear, in a way, that the words of Ritsos soon replaces the formula: “The rock. And the cable car ”.
