On foot to Mani: The House that Paddy Built
Every rock and stream is a myth.
― Patrick Leigh Fermor, from his book Mani
I’d heard about this place. A long-time fan of Leigh Fermor’s work and of the man himself, I’d read about the almost mythical country house he built with his wife in the 60s in Mani. I’d seen pictures and yearned to go.
Then, the opportunity came to photograph it for Lodestars Anthology. The Benaki Museum, which has been running the House since the Leigh Fermors' passing, kindly granted me permission to visit. As you might imagine, I couldn’t have been happier.
Patrick, Paddy to his friends, Kyr Michalis to Greeks (Mister Michael, a name from his days fighting the Germans along the Greek resistance troops in Crete) decided to settle somewhere in Greece in the ’60s and set out to look for an appropriate place to do so. An olive grove on a small peninsula called Kalamitsi, a bit further down the (then non-existent) road heading east of Kardamyli, was proposed to him by friends.
So he set out to visit the place, using his favourite means of transportation since he was 18. His legs. The same legs that had transported him all the way from Holland to Greece in the ’30s.
From Sparta, he walked through Taygetos, a gorgeously beautiful, very high and quite rugged mountain separating the first from the second peninsula of Peloponnese. The long walk to his future property was worthwhile. This was the place!
Dwelling a little tent set up within the property, Paddy and Joan, his wife and an accomplished photographer in her own right, made notes about the changing light, the winds, the rain, the nearby stream, the people, the trees, the sea. Following patterns by Vitruvius and Palladio, they started. Using stones on the ground as markers to draft and re-draft a basic design of what would eventually become their home, they altered the orientation countless times.
The openings had to be perfectly positioned, the materials had to be local, maybe even from the very spot the house would later stand on, and the architecture had to be eclectic like the well-travelled Leigh Fermors themselves.
Assisted by their friend, architect Nikos Hatzimichalis, local builders and lots of music, wine and cigarettes, the House came into being, with bits and pieces added over the next few years to complete the initial vision of the now happily settled travellers.
It, of course, became the landmark it was predestined to be. Open and hospitable, with a vast, beautiful lounge, charming gardens, lots of guest rooms, little hideaways, porches, courtyards, tree-hidden benches, vast amounts of books and the crystal-clear sea just down the path, it was a well-appreciated long or shortstop for many a friend of the Leigh Fermors. Alberto Giacometti, Francis Bacon, Lawrence Durrell, Bruce Chatwin, Giorgos Seferis and Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, to name a few.
Even unexpected guests were catered for. The lower part of the House, facing the garden by the sea, was conceived in such a way that the bathrooms were accessible from the gardens as well, unlocked at all times for guests arriving by sea to refresh themselves in case the Fermors happened to be away.
I spent two beautifully crisp February days photographing. The Taygetos’ snow-capped peaks to the north and the sparkling Aegean Sea to the south embrace the building, the olive grove and the elegant pool ( added during the renovation of 2011).
I followed the sun and the shadows as Paddy and Joan would probably have done, felt the cool breeze and heard the trickling stream by the property. I browsed through the books, I sat on their sofa. I was mesmerised by the view. It was too cold a day for me to swim, but I’m sure Paddy would have jumped into the sea in a heartbeat.
In 1996, Paddy and Joan bequeathed the House to the Benaki Museum of Athens, wishing that the property remain accessible to visitors, authors and researchers. After their passing, the property underwent a meticulous restoration and a delicate modernisation by the Museum, funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. It is again fully functional and accessible to the public as “The Benaki Museum – Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House.” During a short period in the summer, it’s also available to rent.
This story was shot in February 2020. This post was published in October 2023
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