Visitors to the Monemvasia region will find plenty of products to choose from to take home for themselves and as gifts for their friends. Products that have evolved over thousands of years are on offer in local stores and from the producers themselves.

The top two on the list are definitely olive oil and wine, both of excellent quality. Other delicious local specialities include honey, various drinks, cheese and of course a wide range of sweets for which Monemvasia is famous.

Other products that have become identified with the region are the famous onions of Vatika (known as Vatikiotika) and seafood. Meanwhile, an increasing number of farmers in the region now grow their products organically.

Vatikiotika onions

The most famous farm product to come out of the region of Vies, popularly known as Vatika, are the «Vatikiotika» onions.

This local variety has a strong, sharp flavour, ideal for cooking, which releases a sweeter flavour.

Round, slightly elongated, these onions are from 35-80 mm in diameter. Their tough, shiny, coppery coloured outer skin consists of several layers that protect the inner layers, the flesh of which is reddish, firm and solid.

Thanks to the dry climate of Vies and the cultivation techniques employed, the onions are low in moisture and easily stored for long periods without losing any of their nutritional value, or spoiling due to humidity.

The onions are harvested in early May, from a total cultivated area of about 120 hectares

Sweets

‘’Have a good trip, and don’t forget to bring me back some amygdalota!’’ is what every traveller hears before leaving for Monemvasia, where the famous almond sweets are a speciality.

It is hard to resist the aromas wafting from confectioners’ stores, where recipes that have been handed down through the ages are made wtih ingredients chosen with the strictest of criteria, but above all the pride that confectioners’ take in their trade.

These delicately flavoured almond sweets have travelled the world as faithful ambassadors of Monemvasia.  Then there are the samousades,  stuffed with walnuts, honey and almonds,  the rafiolia, flogeres, melitinia and finally the diples, served at every joyful occasion in this part of the world.

Confectioners that made these traditional sweets in Monemvasia and the surrounding area include:

Deligiannis Brothers, Molai, www.deligianni.gr, tel. 2732022200

Doukato, Monemvasia, tel. 2732061763

Kamarinos, Monemvasia tel. 2732061281

Kastello, Monemvasia, tel. 2732061420

Kolones, Monemvasia,  facebook  tel.2732061214

Moreos Idista, Monemvasia, www.amygdaloto.gr, tel..2732061040

Haramis, Vion Gevseis, Neapoli, tel. 2734022981