Panayotis Benakis

Panayiotis Benakis (late 17th century-1771)
One of Kalamata’s elders, he was among the main protagonists in the Orloff revolt. Active in trade, he acquired large landholdings both in the town and its surrounding countryside. Apart from his commercial activities, he was a prominent figure in Kalamata’s social and political life. After the failure of the revolt, Benakis escaped on a Russian ship for Italy, where he died a year later.

Prokopios Pelekasis

Prokopios Pelekasis (? -1812)
Patriarch of Constantinople from 1785-1789, Pelekasis was born and died in Alagonia, Messinia. During Prokopios’ term as patriarch, he worked zealously to organize the patriarchate’s finances and to boost the morale of subjugated Greeks.

Nikitaras (Nikitas Stamatelopoulos)

Nikitaras (Nikitas Stamatelopoulos, 1782-1849)
A chieftain in the 1821 War of Independence, Nikitaras displayed impressive military skills during the entire time of the war of independence. Πe was born in Nedoussa. From early 1821, he took part in the preparations for the uprising in the Morea with his uncle, Theodoros Kolokotronis and Papaflessas. He took part in many battles, in which he distinguished himself for his bravery.

Alexandros Koumoundouros

Alexandros Koumoundouros (1815-1883)
One of the most important figures in Greek politics in the second half of the 19th century, he served as prime minister no less than 10 times. He served as a lawyer and a public prosecutor in Kalamata. In 1841 he took part in the revolution against the Turks in Crete, and was first elected parliamentary deputy for Messinia in 1853. Throughout those years he was successful in handling several domestic and foreign policy issues, chiefly the liberation of Thessaly and a small section of southern Epirus.

Nikolaos Politis

Ioannis F. Kostopoulos (1856-1918)
Born in Sperhogeia, Messinia, at a young age Kostopoulos settled in Kalamata as an apprentice to his uncle, a textile merchant. In 1916 he founded the Kalamon Bank. The Kalamon Bank developed into the Credit Bank (in 1924 it was named Greek Comercial Credit Bank), now renamed Alpha Bank.

Ioannis F. Kostopoulos

Maria Polydoure (1902-1930)
A poet of the Neo-Romantic school, Polydoure was born in Kalamata where she completed her general education. Her poetry speaks of love and death, its great virtue being the spontaneous emotion that compensates for any technical weaknesses. Her works include Trills that Die (1928), An Echo Amidst Chaos (1929) and volumes of unpublished poems.

Maria Polydoure

Vasilis Fotopoulos (1934-2007)
The Kalamata-born internationally renowned set designer, painter and costume designer Fotopoulos first worked as a set designer for a performance of the Greek National Opera in 1958. He worked in films with directors including Michael Cacoyiannis, Elias Kazan, Francis Ford Coppola, Jules Dassin. Fotopoulos won an Academy Award in 1964 for his set design for Cacoyiannis’ film Zorba the Greek.

Vasilis Fotopoulos