B
ut here in the Mani, Paddy’s legacy endures in two, more localised ways.
Firstly, virtually every bookshop and supermarket in the area stocks his book
“the Mani”, first published in 1958 –an account of his extraordinary journey through
the peninsula “which unlocks the secrets of a people and culture whose roots stretch
back to Byzantium”. Secondly, his house in Kardamyli mentioned above - talk about
location, location, location! If you take the road down to Kalamitsi beach (see the
map on page ??), this stunning building is at the end of the track, on the right. Much
has been written about the man and if you want to find out more, a good starting
pace is both www.patrickleighfermor.org and www.patrickleighfermorsociety.org
but the intention here is to focus on the property.
The house, designed by PLF’s friend, Nikos Hadjimichalis, consists of four buildings.
The one closest to the sea is the main dwelling: built on two levels because of the
slope of the land in the shape of a capital gamma, it is made of stone and has a tiled
roof. But perhaps the most appealing building, maybe because of the use to which
it was put, is PLF’s own study. It too is made of stone, with a flat roof and shaded by
a pergola. There is also a housekeeper’s cottage and a loggia, again stone-built with
a tiled roof. All these buildings blend together, set in a magical Mediterranean location at the edge of the sea and have a certain “Italian” feel.
INSIDE the MANI 58