Veligosti

Veligosti was situated in a vulnerable position, being set on a low hilltop as mentioned in the Chronicle of the Morea, but also a key one on the south-west edge of the plain of Megalopolis, near the main road that connected Arcadia with Laconia and Messenia and her ports. It could thus monitor the ongoing transit trade. Today the position of the castle is to be sought on the hill where is established the cemetery of the Veligosti community.

It is likely that the medieval town of Veligosti - as its name indicates - grew out of some original Slavic settlement which was abandoned when its population increased. In its place was created the city with, as was the Middle Byzantine way, a fortress. There are also indications that at Paliochori – a level area of ​​cultivatable land, north of the hill - and before the Slav invasions, there must have been some Early Byzantine rural settlement. Before the conquest by the Franks the Veligosti region enjoyed a particular level of prosperity: a notable place according to the Chronicle of the Morea.

After the Frankish conquest of the Peloponnese, Veligosti became one of the four baronies of Arcadia, with four fiefdoms. Its first Baron was the Belgian knight Matthew de Walincourt (or de Mons). In 1263 and 1264 Veligosti was at the epicentre of conflicts between the Byzantines and the Franks. By the 14th century Veligosti had lost its importance.

Χρονολόγηση: Middle Byzantine period (9th – start of 13th centuries), Frankish/Late Byzantine periods (13th - 15th centuries),

Today there exist only the remains of one tower.

It is protected by the Law 3028/2002

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