The vaulted lanes of Mesta

Mesta was laid out in the Middle Ages as a defence against pirates, and the plan is still intact: the outer houses form a continuous wall with no windows facing out, the streets inside are a deliberate maze, and many of them are roofed over with stone vaults and arches so that the whole village could be defended and moved through under cover.

Those covered lanes are the reason to photograph here, and they are unusual in Greece for a practical reason: they work at midday. While Pyrgi and the coast are burning out, Mesta's tunnels are cool, shaded and lit from both ends, giving soft directional light and a strong frame within a frame. Wet stone after rain doubles it with reflection.

The central square, with the church of the Taxiarches and a handful of tavernas under mulberry trees, is the only genuinely open space; the rest is corridors, buttresses and outside stairways. It is small enough to walk in fifteen minutes and confusing enough that you will not.

Cars stay outside the walls, which keeps it quiet. The lanes are narrow — a wide lens earns its place — and the light levels inside the vaults are low, so keep movement slow. It is a village people live in, so avoid blocking a passage while you work.