Our village existed prior to: Circa 465 B. C. Nestani is a mountainous, picturesque village built at the foot of Mount Artemision, about 15 kilometers from Tripolis. It is the first village of Arkadia on the new National Highway (E 65) coming from Athens, and it is about five kilometers from the Artemision Tunnel.

The name Nestani is derived from the Ancient Greek word meaning “a return home” or “nostos”. For centuries, Nestani was known as Tsipiana. “Tsipiana” derives either from the Byzantine word ” Kepiana,” which referred to gardens from the word “kepos,” or from the Albanian word “Tsipouro,” which has to do with grape vines and wine-making. The area was well-known for centuries for its wine. The name was changed back to Nestani in 1927, when the government decided to eliminate foreign connotations to all Greek place names.

The village has a pleasant central square with interesting cafes, kiosks and stone-built houses. The square is also shaded by big plane trees.

The settlement has an amphitheatrical shape at the foot of Mount Artemision and is distinguished by the traditional architecture of its houses. At the upper end of the village stands the imposing and beautifully painted Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.

Towering above the village is the hill of Goula, with its strange and most recognizable shape. Goula offers a magnificent view of the countryside, and on this hill sits the Ancient Monastery of Gorgoepikoos. This Monastery holds a very special place in the hearts of all Nestaniotes.

In the Middle Ages, a town or village with the name of Tsipiana or Kipiana was located on Goula. Traces of the original fort can still be seen there. At that time, the villagers moved from Goula to the upper part of the modern-day village, after which the Franks fortified the previous site of Tsipiana on Goula and established their headquarters there for a short time. During the Venetian and Turkish times, there was also a settlement of Tsipianites on Artemision at Malevo. Some of them lived there permanently until the Ottomans left, and others lived there in the summer months and had homes in the village of Nestani. Living in the mountains afforded people more safety from the invaders. Eventually, the people from Malevo moved permanently back to Nestani, and the Malevo settlement died out completely.

Today, Nestani is the seat of the Municipality of Manteinia, which is comprised of Nestani, Kapsia, Artemisio, Louka, Sagga, Semiades, Pikerni, and also the archaeological sites of Ancient Manteinia and

Gortsouli. Manteinia is situated in the Northeast part of Arkadia. It has an area of about 205.393 stremmata (a stremma is one quarter of an acre). The majority of the settlements of the Municipality of Manteinia are built at the foot of the Mountain Artemision except for Kapsia and Simiades, which are built at the foot of Mount Mainalo. The settlements are semi-mountainous except for Sagga, which is mountainous.

Manteinia’s main industry is agriculture, based on cereals, vegetables, apples, honey, potatoes, pears, grapes for vinification and stock-raising products. Manteinia is famous for its wines, which have “Manteinia” as their name of origin. Its wine is so well regarded that it is listed on the European “Wine Tour”.

Most of the arable lands of Nestani were in the “Argon Pedion” or Kambo as the villagers call it and in Milia. The Kambos is flooded annually by the waters that descend from the surrounding mountains.

sometimes the valley floods to such an extent that Nestani seems to be situated next to a lake. This water empties through the Cave at “Katavothra” and winds its way to Argolida.

The village has historical significance for many of its sites. Among them are the Monastery and the Akropolis, which are discussed in separate summaries. Others include the following:

On the north side of Nestani, below the present day cemetery of St. Nicholas, there is a fountain that was built by Philip of Macedon (Alexander the Great’s father) during a military expedition into the area.

At the top of the hill known as “Stohos,” there is a small church dedicated to St. John the Thermologou. The name of the Saint is derived from the time when people suffered from the fever caused by malaria and they would ask for the miraculous intervention of St John to cure them. At the foundation of this small church have been discovered remains of an ancient temple possibly dedicated to the goddess Demeter.

Nestani is also famous for its festivals at different times of the year. One is the festival of St. George celebrated on April 23, a very old and beautiful tradition that has been preserved through the ages by the people of Nestani. All the participants are dressed in the traditional attire of the village and the men hold a shepherd’s staff whose top is usually decorated with lilacs, wild celery, or other wild flowers. The colorfully dressed celebrants walk up to and down from the top of Goula singing the songs especially associated with the festival of St. George. They descend to the square that the villagers call “Tou Papagianni to Aloni” and there they form huge circles, dance the “sirto” and sing traditional songs of the experiences, hardships, and adventures of their ancestors from the time of the Ottoman occupation.