Leonidio, the capital of the Kynouria province since 1844, is built on the shores of the Myrtoos sea below Mount Parnonas. It developed after 1826, when the Turkish army of Ibrahim Pasha destroyed the old capital of Kynouria, Prastos. Tsakonian, a paraphrase of the ancient Doric dialect, is still spoken in the village. The women's Monastery of Agios Nikolaos is located near the Agios Nikolaos Monastery of Sintzas under the rocky area of Parnonas. The monastery is said to have been founded around 1400. The site has a tiled wing with white cells and guest rooms, a two-story bell tower and the small church of the Saint. The interior of the church is dominated by the wooden, gilded iconostasis and the sloping blue ceiling decorated with numerous stars (representation of the starry sky). Today, 1 nun lives in the monastery.
Editor: Niki Kalopaidis