Old Girls' School - Cultural Centre of the Eastern Mani Municipality

Old Girls' School of Gythio is a ground-floor building with a tiled roof. Built in 1896 by the renowned Bavarian architect and engineer Ernst Ziller, it is a testament to the economic and cultural prosperity of the place. It was made under the mayoralty of Dr Vassilios Kalkandis and is located in the centre of Gythio, at Panayiotaros Venetsanakis Square. It was used as a girls’ school, and until 1990 it was used as the Second Elementary School. It then housed the High School and the Real Estate Office of Gythio. In May 1982, the Old Girls' School was designated a historic monument by the Ministry of Culture. Since May 2016, it has housed the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of East Mani.

In this modern museum of the Cultural Centre, the visitor can learn about Mani's history and people through its collections. The space is divided into three thematic rooms where historical and symbolic value objects are housed.

• Local Products Room: In the central hall, the visitor is introduced to the stone landscape of Mani and its local products through the photographs of G. Vourlitis and the rich objects of the collection.

• Girls' Hall: The second theme talks about the newest Gythio, the commerce, the port, immigration and education. Among the exhibits, the visitor can see the manuscripts of poets Yiannis Ritsos and Nikiforos Brettakos, the typographical machine that the local newspaper "Laconia" used to be printed with and the mandolin of the Italian musician and director of the Githio Philharmonic, Moretti.

• Tourist Promotion Room: The tourist lounge connects the past and present. Visitors can tour the area through an interactive touch screen and be informed of tourist and archaeological sites.

Finally, at the Cultural Centre, visitors can also find a study area and have access to the Municipal Library reading room, where, among other things, there are works of Mani poets, popular textbooks, and more. The late great teacher and writer Gerasimos Kapsalis donated the Kapsaleios Municipal Library.