From the harbour area of Messolonghi we can follow the Ring Road to the west, along the lagoon of Plostaina, for about 3.5 km. We can enjoy the walk on foot or by whatever other means we prefer, admiring the various species of birds that find shelter in this part of the lagoon. Finally we come to the old National Road of Messolonghi – Aitoliko. This lagoon bears the name of its former island, which has now been filled in to extend the city to this western side.
At a distance of about 500 m. from the harbour area, we find on the right side of the road the building of the Messolonghi Byron Society. This is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 to honour the memory of the great philhellenic romantic poet who lived and died in Messolonghi. It also functions as a research centre. It is housed in the attic of a three-storey building, erected in the 1990s as a copy of the house of the Messolonghi resident Christos Kapsalis, where Lord Byron lived in the last days of his life, in the “Kapsaleiki” quarter of the city. This house was located near the dock. Byron resided on the first floor, while the Souliotes of his bodyguard lived on the ground floor. After the poet’s death the building was converted into a hospital and powder magazine and on the night of the Exodus it was blown up by Kapsalis. By 1835, it was in ruins. The Messolonghi Byron Society has developed a rich cultural activity, with exhibitions, events and educational programmes. It possesses the library of the Centre for the Study and Research of Byron and Philhellenism with 2,000 books on the poet, as well as on other Romantic poets.
The figure of Lord Byron (1788-1824) is inextricably linked to Messolonghi. A great exponent of philhellenism, he lived for a short time and died in the city. He came to Greece in 1809 on a short first trip and returned in 1824 to join the struggle for the freedom of the Greeks and to assist the fighters. He arrived in Messolonghi in January 1824, at the urging of Alexandros Mavrokordatos. He was received with great honour and soon assumed a commanding role in the expeditionary forces of the city. In March, the Messolonghians declared him a fellow-townsman. His sudden death from illness on 19 April 1824 put an end to his activities, but also made him an iconic figure for Messolonghi and the philhellenic struggle. There is a statue of Lord Byron outside the Messolonghi Byron Society, while another, in which his entrails and heart are buried, is located in the Garden of Heroes, near the grave of Markos Botsaris.
The year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of the great philhellene, an anniversary that is to be commemorated with splendor and in many events by the city of Messolonghi, as it was after the first centenary in 1924. On the first floor of the building of the Byronic Society, from April 2024, a Museum for Lord Byron and Philhellenism is operating, where from April 2024 the permanent exhibition on Lord Byron and Philhellenism entitled “Byron and Greece” is hosted.
Address: Plostaina, 302 00 Messolonghi
Telephone: 26310 23174
Ticket: Visits to the Museum are by appointment, but are free of charge
Website: www.messolonghibyronsociety.gr
E-mail: byronlib@gmail.com
On the ground floor of the same building is the Valvios Municipal Library, which was originally housed in a building from 1830-1880 on Chrysogelo and Petaloudi streets. It has more than 27,000 books and a reading room for the public and organizes reading events.