Next to the small town of Kyllini and a short distance from the modern port that connects the southern Ionian Islands with Ilia and the Peloponnese are the remains of Glarentza, the important medieval city and major port of the Principality of Achaia founded by the French Crusaders.
The archaeological site is located northwest of the current city of Kyllini, which in ancient times was the port of Elis, the capital of the state of Ilia.
Ancient Kyllini flourished during classical times, after the second settlement of the capital Elis in 471 BC. and functioned as the most important trading post and gateway to the land of Ilia. The strategically important ancient port, in addition to being an important commercial station, was also a hub for maritime transport to the entire Mediterranean. In fact, every four years, ships with goods and people from all regions of the Greek world arrived in Kyllini to take part and experience the unique Olympic Games.
The ancient port of Kyllini was artificial, with an inner excavated section and piers, while ancient Kyllini, which was a medium-sized town, had sanctuaries of Asclepius and Aphrodite, while as Pausanias testifies there was also a statue of Hermes as a phallus on a pedestal, to which the locals gave special honors.
During the Roman era, the city and the port continued to exist, however information and references to the area are now minimal. The ancient city and port of Kyllini slowly faded away in the following centuries.
The region appears again in the Middle Ages, around the 13th century. The ruler William II Villeardouin, in the mid-1250s, founded Clarentza (Clarentia, Clarence), on the remains of ancient Kyllini, as the port of Andravida, capital of the Principality of Achaia.
A city originally created by the Franks, Glarentza grew, flourished, declined, and disappeared over the course of two centuries. The area is rapidly developing into the most important economic and urban center of the crusader hegemony, while at the same time it is turning into one of the busiest ports in the Mediterranean as imports and exports of products take place from there. The city still had industrial activity, a hospital, banks, and buildings for the service of seafarers, churches, blacksmiths, workshops, warehouses as well as a mint that cut the infamous tournois, also known as denier tournois. The importance of the city is also shown by the fact that the meetings of the rulers took place in Glarentza, while the prince maintains a second residence there.
However, from the 15th c. and in the years that follow, the security and tranquility of Glarentza is shaken by the raids it receives from various enemies, trade is transferred to other ports, and the city declines and is abandoned. In World War II, German troops blow up the remaining walls and the remains of the city are destroyed. It even seems that the medieval city functioned as a quarry and a place to receive building material for the construction of the buildings of modern Kyllini.
There are no remains of the fortified enclosure, which was probably destroyed already in the Middle Ages, but visitors can perceive its position. Externally, the enclosure was strengthened with a wide and deep ditch, while at key points, for example at the corners and gates, the foundations of towers were found.
On the eastern side of the city, the cathedral of Saint Francis, built in the 13th century, is preserved, where during the city's heyday important events concerning the public and political life of the place took part, while at the same time it was also used as a cemetery for the nobles.
We know that the walls had three gates, two of which have been identified where road arteries ended, one of which led to the capital Andravida, and the other to Chlemoutsi Castle. In the most sheltered part of the city, on the west coast, there is an enclosure delimiting a small fortress, probably the princely residence. Two other buildings whose use has not been ascertained were found near the northern side.
A lighthouse was built in 1906 on the rocky island of Kavkalida, a short distance from the opposite beach with which it communicated in ancient times, for the needs of navigation. The building, made of stonework and some elements of reinforced concrete, includes the lighthouse keeper's residence and is both a technical and historical example of communication and navigation in the past. The rock island is of archaeological interest as an ancient cemetery has been preserved and excavations of a limited extent have been carried out from time to time by the competent Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia.
Copyediting: Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia
