Koulentianos Tower
This deserted watchtower with views out over the sea from the strait of Elafonisos and the Gulf of Vatika as far as the Mani, is where once fires were lit by a guard on the lookout for pirate ships. Not far from Platanisto, near the church of Aghios Elissaios Pantanassis, the tower is yet another local site linked to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Andronicos Paleologos, Princess Irene, who is said to have lived here. Standing at this lonely spot, one can imagine the watchman lighting dry branches to warn surrounding villages of the approaching danger, then running to safety himself as the smoke continued to rise into the sky.
These days access to the tower is not easy, as it lies at the end of an unsurfaced road and then a walk along a 300 metre footpath. Turn off the road from Neapoli towards Aghi Anargyri, Aghios Elissaos and the old mines.
