Leonidio or else “Agielidi”, in the
tsakonian dialect, is the capital of the
The Tsakones, as direct descendants of the Dorians, were mentioned for the first time in texts written by byzantine authors and are described as elite force of castle guards. The strictness and the austerity of their morals and their customs were maintained until our days. The tsakonian dance is ancient. The characteristic of this circular dance is that men and “tzoubeloudes” are held tightly together, while the first person in the dance holds in hand a handkerchief.
It is a traditional settlement with classified historical monuments, mansion houses and towers which have been built before 1800, as well as neo classical buildings in the middle of the 19th century. It is about two storeyed and three storeyed mansion houses with paved and pebbled courtyard, cisterns and stone mouths, stone stairs, beautiful tiled roof hayats, high stone plastered stone fences, as well as carved and painted ceilings, which are characteristics of the Tsakonian architecture.
In Leonidio today are saved three of the
grandiose monuments of Peloponnese before the revolution, such as the
A reference point for any visitor is the
Monastery of Madonna (Panagia) Elona (