Gytheio municipal unit

The Gytheio municipal unit covers the north-eastern corner of the Mani peninsula, from the head of the Laconian Gulf to the southern slopes of Taygetos. It spans 197 sq km and in the 2021 census counted 6,987 residents, 4,542 of them in the town of Gytheio, the largest settlement in Mani and seat of the East Mani municipality. Sparta lies about 40 km to the north along National Road 39.
Gytheio was the harbour of ancient Sparta and, in Roman times, a member of the League of Free Laconians, exporting purple dye and marble. The Roman theatre survives from that period, while part of the ancient town now lies under the sea. The settlement revived in the late 18th century around the Grigorakis tower on the islet of Kranae, which today houses the Historical and Ethnological Museum of Mani, and grew into a trading port during the 19th century.
The unit includes the villages around Mavrovouni and Skoutari and the surrounding hills, Passavas castle 5 km to the south-west, and the beaches of Mavrovouni, Valtaki with the wreck of the Dimitrios, and Skoutari. Ferries sail from the port to Kythira and Crete.