The traditional village of Artemisia is built (at an altitude of 700 metres) on a hill at the foothills of Mount Agios Georgios, one of the many slopes of western Taygetos. It is 24 kilometres from Kalamata and 36 kilometres from Sparta and has about 100 permanent residents. Although even today, it is one of the largest villages of Taygetos (due to its large area), its population has decreased significantly.
The village’s origins are lost in the depths of history through the centuries. Homer makes the first references since Artemisia (and specifically Kato Chora and Meles) are located on the site of the ancient settlement of Denthaliatida Chora, with its rich vineyards and famous wine, "Denthis" (perhaps the oldest wine with a designation of origin). Also, at the Volimnos site, there are ruins of the temple of Limnatida Artemis, while at the Mazinia site is the homonymous post-Byzantine Nedon bridge, which is 19 metres long and 4.50 metres high. The river Nedon is visible all the way to the village, which is built at the main point of concentration of its waters. The original location of the settlement was different from the one it is today. Specifically, it was located in Kato Chora, near the Agia Kyriaki chapel, which is, in fact, the first church built in Tsernitsa (Artemisia). This is evident from the ancient, ruined buildings, bones, and many objects discovered during the opening of the rural road.
Traveller Pausanias visited the area in the 2nd century AD., which is information he mentions in his book "Messeniaka". Moreover, the German Curator of antiquities and Hellenist Ludwig Ross visited it in 1838, especially the archaeological site in Volimnos, where he left his testimonies in a special mention. In the 8th century AD, during the Byzantine emperor Constantine V' (Kopronymos), with the descent of the Slavs to the Peloponnese, the villages of Taygetos received a significant new population and took Slavic names. Thus, the village was named Tsernitsa or Tsernitza, which means "area with many mulberries". At the same time, the ancient Denthaliatida area was renamed Koutsaves or Koutsava. Artemisia and the surrounding villages were the springboards of the Struggle for the liberation of Kalamata from the Turkish occupation during that period. Specifically, on March 23rd, 1821, Kolokotronis, Nikitaras and Papaflessas, starting from these villages and monasteries, joined the Mavromichalis family from Mani, achieving the liberation of Kalamata.
As the capital village, Tsernitsa maintained a court, a registry office, a police station and many inns, while in 1927, the village was renamed from Tsernitsa to Artemisia. At this point, it is worth mentioning that in the mid-1940s, some municipal officials arbitrarily started writing the name of the village as Artemi(η)sia (with eta - η). In 1949, the Primary School principal did the same, making a corresponding round seal. The headmaster's example was followed by the community’s president and the village’s priest, making arbitrarily similar seals. The result of all this arbitrariness was the prevalence of confusion about the correctness of the writing of the name. Order began to be gradually restored after 1967 when teachers began to write the village’s name officially (as it was registered in the gazette). The seal was finally replaced in June 1973, when the phoenix (instead of the crown) was established as the village coat of arms. The example of the teachers was followed by the Community, in contrast to the temple of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas), which still uses a seal with the letter "eta - η".
In Artemisia, visitors can see the traditional houses and the temple of the Presentation of the Virgin with the eight-sided dome. The church preserves frescoes from 1713 (in the main church and the narthex) and 1704 (in the iconostasis). The church of Ypapanti (Presentation) of Sotiras (Savior), a single-aisle, wooden-roofed basilica built in 1858, is also noteworthy. At a distance of only 800 metres from the village, there is the Pouloupatis house, which dates back to the 18th century. The house has been declared a historic monument by the Ministry of Culture, and the original core of the building is the three-story, rectangular tower with a three-striped roof. The entrance is arched with an elaborate parapet - typical of the latest popular architecture - while an underground cistern is in the courtyard.
In a verdant area, just 800 metres west of Artemisia, visitors can see the Meles Monastery, which is dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner. The monastery celebrates on August 29th and was founded before 1600. The Meles Medieval School was housed in the Meles Monastery, as well as the Schools of national benefactor, Petros Dimakis, where great professors and hierarchs taught, and significant people attended, such as Benakis, Meletopoulos and many more.
In Artemisia, the Dimitris Yiannopoulos’ traditional watermill (known as the "The Redifis’ Mill"), where his grandfather worked until the 1960s, is also worth visiting. Afterwards, the watermill was restored and is now operational. Next to the water mill, there is also a mill for washing clothes. The "Redifis’ Mill" dominates the area at a lower altitude than the Church of the Transfiguration of Sotiras of Artemisia, which was rebuilt from scratch by brothers Georgios, Panagiotis and Dimitrios Giannopoulos after the catastrophic earthquakes of 1986. In fact, the church forms the boundary between Artemisia and Alagonia. Finally, opposite Artemisia, on Agios Georgios on Mount Lykourio (and at the Kastro summit), a big festival is organised every year, after Easter, with entertainment, dancing and live music until the morning hours.
