ABOUT US
About Us
"The ‘Castro’ or fortress of Monemvasia is set on a rock in the Aegean Sea off the Southern Peloponnese. It is joined by a causeway to the Greek mainland. The City of Monemvasia has a powerful separation from the world. Inhabitants are further isolated behind the fortified walls, with only one gateway into the City. From the 6th century AD onwards it has played a significant role in Byzantine and Mediterranean history. This unique geographical and historical environment determined how the unique community has evolved over time, and has continued to the present day.
Our Story
Six residents set up the Monemvasia Photographic Society (MPS) in 2005. It was apparent that, over time, residents’ photographs were being lost or dispersed. The Castro buildings had always been well recorded, but there was a danger that a record of the people themselves, might vanish. Local families, new residents and a number of historical
and photographic archives enabled the MPS archive to be created.
The Photographic Collection
The photographic collection, including film footage, spans over a century, from 1888 until the present day. It provides a graphic description of Monemvasian society throughout their recent history.
Our Founder
Ann Eldridge has completed academic research in the Classics, specialising in the reception of Ancient Greece in the nineteenth century,
with specific reference to the revival of the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. She has owned a house in Monemvasia in the southern Peloponnese for many years and founded the Monemvasia Photographic Society in 2005. Ann Eldridge is a chartered surveyor specialising in urban planning.
The future
The photographic archive is extensive thanks to photographic contributions from individual families, and those from numerous historic
CONTACT
archives. Public access is planned. we are always pleased to receive additional material. Enquires from photographers and researchers are welcome.
Donate to Support Us
The Monemvasia Society is a not for profit organisation that relies on the support of the community. In oder for us to continue to work with an archeologist, archivist and complete projects such as recording interviews with locals and someday making the entire photographic archive available online, please consider clicking below to donate to support us.
Oral History
The Society has worked hard since 2020 to record interviews of the local people of Monemvasia to document the unique stories, history and culture of this special place. To learn more and watch our Living History Film, click the link below.
Monemvasia Society Committee Members
Patron:
Viscountess Bridgeman
Chairman:
Ann Eldridge
Deputy Chairman & Archivist:
Effie Anegnopoulou
Founder Members:
Pantelis Georgas
Yanna Kokkali
Isabelle Sonnard
Byron Verras
Members:
Michael Foundethakis
Eugenia Grigoraki
Anna Marshall
The Monemvasia Society
An archive of photographs of the people of Monemvasia, Greece, from the late nineteenth century to the present day.
CONTACT
Monemvasia Society. Castro, Monemvasia, Lakonia. 23070. Greece
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