 Leondari
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The village of Leontari is located 12 km from Megalopolis. It is a historic village in the province of Megalopolis and serves as the seat of the Municipality of Falaisia.
In Leontari, you can visit noteworthy Byzantine churches. Among them, the Church of the Holy Apostles stands out; it dates back to the 14th century and is located in the central square of the village.
Historically, the area belonged to one of the most important Frankish baronies of the Peloponnese and was known as Veligosti. Next to the village, on a nearby hill, lie the ruins of a medieval castle built by the Franks.
Its strategic position elevated Leontari during the Frankish period to a major commercial and administrative center of the wider region.
Leontari developed rapidly after the destruction of Veligosti. From 1300 to 1391, it served as the seat of the Despots of the Morea. In 1391, it was captured by the Turks under Evrenos Pasha; however, they soon withdrew, and Leontari returned to Byzantine control.
In 1786, Leontari became the temporary capital of the Morea, hosting for a few months the Vali of the Morea after his departure from Nafplio. He later left Leontari and settled in what was then the small town of Tripolitsa.
By 1811, the area of Leontari was home to 600 Christian and 150 Turkish families. At the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, a leading role was played by Konstantina Zacharia, daughter of the armatolos Kostas Zacharias, who had been murdered by the Turks. She raised the revolutionary flag, killed the Turkish administrator, set his house on fire, burned the mosques, and inspired the local population to rise up in revolt.
The region of Leontari was also an area of action for Nikitaras (Nikitas Stamatelopoulos), one of the most prominent figures of the Greek War of Independence.
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