The European Schools Newspaper April issue | Page 22

THE SIGHTS THE CULTURAL CENTRE by Joanna & Mary The Cultural Centre in one of the main streets, Aristomenous Street, is a neoclassical building of early 20th century. Today it has some old parts and a new part with glass surfaces. In 1910, Regina Pantazopoulou from Kalamata started building it and it was like a Popular School with events and lectures for the public. During the Second World War, it was used either as a court or a hospital. After the war, there was not much money and the School was in a difficult situation. In 1968 the Cultural Centre of Kalamata was founded where the Popular School was. Today in the building of the Cultural Centre you can find a big library, a Gallery of Contemporary Greek Art, an auditorium for events such as concerts and dance and theatre performances as well as the spaces on the ground floor for exhibitions. THE MUSEUMS by Costas and Angelo     Benakeion Archaeological Museum Folklore and History Museum Archaeological Museum of Messenia Military Museum of Kalamata the castle THE CASTLES OF MESSENIA by Costas, Spyros, Lucas and Nick K. Apart from the beautiful castle of Kalamata, Messenia has some other famous castles: the castles of the towns Methoni and Pylos, Mourtzinos Castle and Zarnata Castle. the church of Agioi Apostoloi the cultural centre THE CASTLE OF KALAMATA by Micaela THE CHURCH OF IPAPANDI by Socrates The castle of Kalamata, or “castle of Isabeau” was built in the 13th century by William Villehardouin. It is built on top of a hill and has a beautiful view of the city and the sea. It has an amphitheatre for theatre, music and dance shows. It has also a lot of trees and flowers and many tourists visit it. There, you can watch the International Kalamata Dance festival every summer. Around the castle there is the old city of Kalamata with its old houses and quiet little streets. It is very peaceful. Near the castle you can see the city’ s biggest church, the church of Ipapandi and the historical Byzantine church of Agioi Apostoloi where the Greek revolution against the Turks started in 1821. The church of Ipapandi, Kalamata’s cathedral, suffered great damage during the 1986 earthquake but it was restored. Every year, 2nd February is a religious holiday here and there is a procession of the miraculous icon of the Ipapandi. Archaeological Museum the church of Ipapandi