Niata is built at an altitude of 320 metres and is located 70 kilometres northwest of Sparta. The village, which today has about 1000 permanent residents, was built during Byzantine times around the 13th century. The first written testimony about the village was in 1444. It is said that Theodoros Palaeologus since wars had decimated the area, brought 10.000 Epirotes. They settled in the area and built Niata, Kremasti and Zarakas. In 1398, the village was named Netata or Data - Niata by the Despot of Mystras.
In Niata, there is a park, unique in Greece, with 86 stone wells, which date back from 1560 to 1900. Because there are no springs in the area, the locals located the specific point where water was held, so they built the wells. Initially, all the wells were private, and over the years, they belonged to more and more owners due to bequests. When the village acquired a water supply network, the wells were preserved and today are a separate attraction of the area. The Great Well stands out, which was built between 1905 and 1967 for the needs of the whole village. According to tradition, whoever drank from the Great Well water got married and lived in Niata forever. The following mantinada – traditional song/poem is also characteristic:
"Our village is good
It has many wells.
It has beautiful girls and nice boys ".
In the village, visitors can see the old windmills, which can be seen on the hill, while the traditional pasta workshop "The Mills" is worth a visit. Also, in the village square, there is a marble monument with the names of 80 children and 30 adults, victims of Ibrahim Pasha during his invasion in Niata on September 14th, 1825. The adults were killed, while the children (aged 3 -18) were sold in a slave market at Pylos. Kapodistrias asked to be sent the reports with the prisoners' names to pay and get the children back. Unfortunately, few were lucky.
