The history of the village of Manesi starts from the year 1465 A.D. The first inhabitants of the village lived in the current location "Old Manesi" where some ruins are preserved. Old Manesi is located at the foot of Erymanthos above the sources of the Selinounta tributary "Michni".
The name of the village Manesi comes from the first inhabitant Manesis, who was descended from the Manesai family, to which the name Manesi is due in many parts of Greece. There are still today many families with the name "Manesis".
During the census of the Peloponnese by the Venetians, the village was inhabited by 12 families, which had 48 people. During the Turkish occupation, i.e. from 1715-1821, they settled in the present Manesis. Many militant villagers took part in the revolution and fought in Kalavrita, Levidi, Tripolitsa, Akrata, Patras, etc.
After the liberation, when the municipalities were founded by Kapodistrias, Manesi was the capital of the municipality of Lapathos, which included 18 villages. It was the richest municipality in the province of Kalavrita. In 1928 it had a full Greek school, with 56 male and 42 female students.
In 1914, after the dissolution of the municipalities when it became a community, it had 562 inhabitants. It had a transitional court, police, post office, telegraph office, rural clinic. It had 5 grocery stores, 2 cheese dairies, 2 blacksmith shops. Generally everything needed for the good living of the inhabitants.
Today Manesi is a large village of the municipality of Kalavrita with a population of 200 inhabitants. It includes the settlements of Manesi, Boubouka. It has a primary school, a kindergarten with children from the surrounding villages, a rural clinic which was recently renovated, the Holy Church of Agios Nikolaos and many chapels. There are two grill shops, one of which is also a grocery store. It has sports facilities for youth sports. There are also rooms to let throughout the year.
By car we are:
20 km. from Kalavrita
53 km. from Patras
210 km from Athens
106 km from Tripoli
27 km from Fteri
Worth visiting:
1. St George’s chapel which is located 2km from the village. You can go by car or on foot, to worship and admire the nature.
2. A beautiful forest of plane trees. There are the sources of the Selinounda River, which flows into Aegio. The waters are cold in winter and summer. An ideal place for rest and recreation.
3. The slopes of Erymanthos which are covered with fir trees, with many springs and endless dirt roads ideal for various kinds of sports. If you go higher the landscape changes, becomes rocky and gives a wild beauty to nature...
The chapel of Agios Dimitrios is located northeast of the village of Manesiou, about 1 km from the village, a short distance from the chapel of Panagia Zoodochos Pigi.
As Father George F. Tzelepis, parish priest of our church, tells us, the patron saint of our village, the Holy Church of St. Nicholas, was built in the year 1827 and renovated in the year 1862.
The chapel of Agios Athanasios dominates imposingly on the hill west of the village of Manesi in Galistra.
The beautiful small monastery of Agios Georgios is located near the village of Manesi Kalavrita. Based on tradition and existing vessels, it appears that it was erected in the 12th to 14th century.