The digital application "Paths of Culture in Sikinos" and the project "Recording and Highlighting the Flora of Sikinos" are two new initiatives implemented in 2025 with funding from the Cycladic Identity Initiative of the Museum of Cycladic Art.

Cycladic Identity aims at protecting the cultural and natural heritage of the Cyclades, as well as preserving, restoring, and showcasing their unique identity. With Culture, Biodiversity, and Intangible Cultural Heritage as its core priorities, the initiative functions as a platform for attracting and distributing resources to programs implemented by organizations active on the islands. The initiative is now completing its second year, having already supported 16 programs across 11 Cycladic islands, including one inter-Cycladic project. (Cover photo: Cycladic Identity Initiative)

The network of paths in the Cycladic islands is part of the region's cultural heritage and unique character. These trails were created over centuries with great effort and a deep sense of aesthetics by the local inhabitants. On Sikinos, the trail network includes seven marked routes with a total length of 56 kilometers, connecting landscapes of exceptional natural beauty with archaeological sites, chapels, and traditional settlements. (Photo: Cycladic Identity Initiative)

The "Paths of Culture in Sikinos" application, implemented by the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET), is a digital tool that allows visitors to explore the island’s historic trails safely, accurately, and with in-depth information about its cultural identity. In July, the first presentation of the app was held at Sikinos Elementary School. The event included a live demonstration of the application’s features, as well as an open discussion with the local community about the importance of preserving and highlighting the Cycladic identity through digital tools.

The new application, “Sikinos Paths”, available for free on both Android and iOS, serves as a navigation assistant for hikers, enhancing their safety through offline maps and reliable trail information. It also provides bilingual content (Greek–English), supporting the tourism promotion of Sikinos and attracting visitors looking for authentic exploration experiences. To ensure maximum accessibility, the island's trail signage has been updated with modern signs featuring QR codes that link directly to the application.

Trail 1 (Chorio – Episkopi – Manalis Well – St. Panteleimon – Alopronia) - walking distance12,9 km, distance Time 4 hours 30 mins - includes sightseeing of traditional windmills, the Episkopi church and ancient monument, the Byzantine churches of St. Anne and St. George, cobbled paths with impressive low stone walls, the chapel of St. Panteleimon, and  traditional vineyards (Source: GREEK PATHS OF CULTURE) (upper photos: Cycladic Identity Initiative)

Footpaths were shaped over the centuries through the hard work and refined sense of beauty of our ancestors. They connected towns and villages, facilitating not only the movement of goods but also the exchange of culture. Over time, however, with the advent of modern transportation, many of these paths were abandoned—overgrown by vegetation or, in some cases, bulldozed and paved over as a convenient way to build road networks. The Hellenic Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET), through its “Paths of Culture” initiative, seeks to breathe new life into surviving footpaths of particular natural beauty and historical value. The “Greek Paths of Culture” program has already been implemented in 12 regions across Greece, and in October 2019, it  was honored with a Europa Nostra Award in the Awareness-Raising category. (Source: Hellenic Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage - ELLET)

Flora of Sikinos (Photos: Cycladic Identity Initiative)

The second program completed in Sikinos is "Recording and Highlighting the Flora of Sikinos". Implemented by the Sikinos Association, this important initiative focuses on the scientific documentation, educational use, and public presentation of the island’s natural wealth. The project concentrated on cataloguing endemic and aromatic plants, as well as documenting the various flora species found on Sikinos. As part of this effort, a physical herbarium—a collection of dried and carefully documented plant specimens—was created. In July, the program and the herbarium exhibition were presented at Sikinos Elementary School. Students on Sikinos will now have the opportunity to learn about the island’s flora, gaining valuable knowledge with the aim of becoming future stewards of their natural heritage. Additionally, a proposal is underway to develop plans for cultivating aromatic plants on the island, focusing on native species with the best potential to thrive.

The island of Sikinos, one of the last inhabited islands in the Cyclades to retain significant uninhabited areas, has been proposed for a detailed study of its flora. Covering an area of 41,000 acres, with approximately 4,500 acres historically cultivated, Sikinos has traditionally maintained a predominantly agricultural lifestyle, setting it apart from many other small Cycladic islands. Unlike its neighbors, it lacks a strong maritime tradition, focusing instead on cultivation. The island’s cultivable lands, rocky barren landscapes, gorges, and uncultivated areas provide a unique habitat for characteristic flora, including potentially many endemic species that remain largely unaffected by cultivation, pesticides, road construction, and building developments. (Photo: Cycladic Identity Initiative)

Sikinos is a relatively small Cycladic island, perfect for a quiet holiday filled with relaxing walks through scenic locations and swimming in crystal-clear waters—far from the crowds. The visitor escapes the stress and anxiety of everyday life on this charming island, nestled between Ios and Folegandros. Sikinos is characterized by terraced landscapes, low stone fences, and countless chapels scattered across a scenery bathed in the stunning green and blue hues of the Aegean Sea. While its terrain is largely rocky and lacks abundant greenery, the island’s most striking feature is the steep cliff on its northwest side, where the picturesque Chora is perched. (Source: visitgreece.gr, Photo: aegeanislands.gr)

Chora is one of the most beautiful capital towns in the Cyclades, with stone manors and narrow alleys. It has two settlements, the oldest of which is called Kastro (Castle), also called Sikinos, while the second settlement, Chorio (the Greek word for village), has been built in recent years. (Photo: aegeanislands.gr)

The monastery of Zoodochos Pigis (meaning Life Giving Fountain) or Chrysopigi, built at the top of a cliff, in an amazing location, gives at first the impression of a castle. It was built in 1690 and as it appears from the fortification, the battlements and the murder holes, it was a last resort of the Sikinians every time the Castle was under malicious raiders. The visitor enjoys a breathtaking sunset from there.  (Photos: aegeanislands.gr)

The monument of Episkopi on Sikinos is a Roman mausoleum dating back to the 3^rd century. Because of its conversion to a Byzantine church, it was continuously used and has therefore survived nearly intact. Its ancient structure, combined with interventions from several historical periods, offers an incomparable palimpsest of archaeological periods that is rarely preserved in ancient monuments. The Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades decided to restore the building in 2016 and reopen it to the public. During the restoration work on Episkopi, archaeologists made many valuable discoveries, such as inscriptions and remnants of Roman and Byzantine wall paintings, which were preserved by implementing a microclimate monitoring system. The most important find was the hermetically sealed grave of a woman of high rank, named ‘Neiko’, which was dated to the 3^rd century. This "palimpsest of history" was awarded the European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award in 2022 for its significant cultural value and restoration efforts. (Source: europeanheritageawards.eu,  Photo: Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades )

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The post Exploring Sikinos Island: Cultural Trails and Natural Treasures Through Innovation appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The Benaki Museum, in collaboration with the Cultural Association 'Skiathos', is organizing an exhibition titled “Dimitris Pikionis: Shape and Form” at the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary on Skiathos island (on view until October 15). The exhibition offers a concise overview of the work and personality of Dimitris Pikionis, whose archive was donated to the Benaki Museum by the Pikionis family in 2001. A distinctive figure of Greek Modernism, Pikionis profoundly influenced the architectural consciousness of Greece and continues to shape it to this day (Cover photo: Landscaping of the Acropolis–Philopappou Hill by D. Pikionis, 1954–57, Benaki Museum, Exhibition Catalogue).

Another major exhibition on Pikionis’s legacy, titled “Dimitris Pikionis: An aesthetic topography” – named after one of his theoretical writings - will be presented at the Benaki Museum in Athens from October 23, 2025, to January 25, 2026. This exhibition will focus on his renowned landscape design for the entrances to the Acropolis of Athens.

D. Pikionis photographed at Delphi (Source: Benaki Museum)

Dimitris Pikionis (1887-1968) was born in Piraeus to parents of Chian descent. In 1906, while studying civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (from which he graduated in 1908), he became the first student of the distinguished Greek painter Konstantinos Parthenis. A friend of the painter Giorgio De Chirico, continued his studies in architecture in Munich and later pursued fine arts at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. There, he encountered modern painting—particularly the work of Cézanne and Paul Klee—as well as the sculpture of Rodin. Upon returning to Greece, he rediscovered his architectural calling without abandoning painting, and eventually taught at the National Technical University of Athens. During this period, he also collaborated with a group of artists to co-edit the influential magazine To Trito Mati ("The Third Eye") alongside his close friend, the painter Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas. The publication played a key role in introducing the European avant-garde to Greece.

Although a contemporary of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, Pikionis developed a unique architectural language that sought to integrate tradition with modern abstraction. His work aimed to synthesize formal innovation with a deep sensitivity to cultural identity—an effort to reconcile modernity with the spirit of place and heritage. (Source: Benaki Museum)

D. Pikionis, from the “Attica” series (Benaki Museum, Exhibition Catalogue). In Pikionis’s work, the typology of modern architecture opens up to vernacular inspirations, to the part-ancient, part-mythical past, and to the natural environment—from which all cultural forms originate and to which they will be ultimately returned. (Source: Kassel Dokumenta 14)

The landscaping project for the Acropolis and Philopappos Hill, on which he worked between 1954 and 1958, is considered Pikionis’s foremost and most unique achievement (Benaki Museum, Exhibition Catalogue)

"Pikionis’s landscaping for the Acropolis and Philopappos Hill took the form of a system of footpaths, individually paved with stones, antique spolia and modern urban rubble, that followed and extended the existing paths on the two hills that had been walked upon, often for centuries. This landscaping is groundbreaking and radical—precisely because it is ultimately modest and thoroughly in situ—a piece of architecture learning from its context. Working collectively with his students and local stonemasons, Pikionis practiced the careful and laborious technique of paving using salvaged debris from the violently developing capital of Greece. His landscape design, created in opposition to both industrial and archaeological transformations of land, remains the only urban-scale project ever to take place on the slopes surrounding the Acropolis” (Source: Kassel Dokumenta 14)

Acropolis-Philopappou hill landscaping by D. PIkionis, 1954-57, photographs by Helen Binet (Benaki Museum)

Acropolis-Philopappou hill landscaping by D. PIkionis, 1954-57 (Benaki Museum)

Kenneth Frampton, the prominent British architect, critic, and historian, has written extensively about Dimitris Pikionis, recognizing him as a pivotal figure in 20th-century architecture: “When I first visited the Acropolis in 1959 I found myself walking virtually by accident on the adjacent landscape of Philopappou Hill and there I felt, with surprise, the almost literal movement of the ground as my frame was drawn by the tactile resistance of the paving, up and down the undulating labyrinth of the terrain; a site designed so as to be experienced as much by the body as by the eyes. Equally surprising were the stone-paved terraces and benches and, above all, the wood-framed temenos and tea pavilion, built adjacent to the reconstructed Loumbardiaris church. These last seemed as though they had been drawn from Japan over eons of time via the cultural sieve of Byzantium. I did not realize at the time that this staging ground was not quite finished and that the seventy-two-year-old architect was still supervising the work” (excerpt from a text first appeared in Dimitris Pikionis, Architect 1887­–1968: A Sentimental Topography, London: Architectural Association, 1989, Source: Kassel Dokumenta 14).

D. Pikionis, Acropolis-Philopappou landscaping, Resting place and Church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris, 1954-54 (Benaki Museum, Catalogue of the exhibition)

The exhibition “Dimitris Pikionis: Shape and Form”  is a concise and comprehensive presentation of Pikionis’s work, through reproductions of archival material and includes: the Moraitis House (1923), the Karamanos House (1925), the Lycabettus Primary School (1932), the Kotopouli Summer Theatre (1933), the plans for the Delphi Centre (1934), the Thessaloniki Experimental School (1935), the Apartment Block at Heyden Street (1936), the Residence / workshop for sculptress Froso Efthymiadou-Menegaki (1949), the Potamianos Residence in Filothei (1953-1955), the Xenia Hotel in Delphi (1951-1956), the Forest Village in Pertouli (1953), the Pouris Residence (1953-1955), the plans for the settlement of Aixoni (1950-1957), the landscaping of the area around the Acropolis and the hill of Filopappou (1954-1958) and the Children's Garden in Filothei (1961-1964).

D. Pikionis, Children’s Play-Garden, Filothei, 1961-64 (Benaki Museum, Exhibition Catalogue)

Elementary school, Pefkakia, Lycabettus, 1932 (left), Thessaloniki Experimental School, 1935 (right). Pikionis states: “The Lycabettus School was built in 1933, but as soon as it was completed, I found it did not satisfy me. It occurred to me then that the universal spirit had to be coupled with the spirit of nationhood; and this led me to make buildings like the Experimental School in Thessaloniki (1935)…” (Benaki Museum, Exhibition Catalogue)

In the exhibition catalogue, George Manginis, Academic Director of the Benaki Museum, writes “among the greats of Greek modernism, Dimitris Pikionis stands out for his championing of the humanist ideal: the belief that humankind constitutes the ultimate measure of things. His approach to materials combined a deep knowledge of their limitations more expected from a traditional craftsperson, with an acumen more akin to a historian of art and architecture; his sense of proportion opted for minor scale and quiet emotion, but embraced the monumental as a mechanism of remembrance, sometimes even nostalgia; and his universal vision for the vocation of the architect was founded on both an open perception of society and a personal, nearly mystical approach to the concept of place”.

Painting works by D. Pikionis presented at the exhibition: From the “Paris” series, “The Three Graces”, 1914 (upper left), From the “Nature” series, “House in the Sacred Way” (upper right), From the “Vernacular” series, untitled (lower left), From the “Vernacular” series, “Elpis” (“Hope”) (lower right) (Benaki Museum, Exhibition Catalogue)

D. PIkionis, Sketch for Aixoni Settlement, Glyfada, 1953-55 (not realized) (Benaki Museum, Exhibition Catalogue)

The Monastery of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary - commonly known as Evangelistria by the locals – is hosting the exhibition and is located in the northeast of Skiathos island, approximately 5 km from the main town, at an altitude of about 200 meters. Among the oldest Monasteries in Greece, Evangelistria is the only “active” monastic community on Skiathos today. It was founded by Kollyvades monks from Mount Athos, with construction beginning in 1794 and completed in 1806. The monastery was known for its strict adherence to Athonite monastic rules, including a historical ban on the entry of women. Evangelistria played a crucial role in the national awakening and revolutionary movements of the time, offering both moral and material support. In 1807, it became the site where the first Greek flag—featuring a white cross on a sky-blue background—was designed, made, blessed, and raised for the first time. Today, the monastery houses a library and a folklore museum, showcasing sacred relics and historical exhibits that reflect its spiritual and national significance. (Source: skiathos.gr, Photo: monastiria.gr)

Skiathos, the most cosmopolitan island in the Northern Sporades, is a true paradise on earth, —blessed with lush pine forests, picturesque landscapes, and crystal-clear azure waters. Unspoiled and naturally beautiful, the island boasts more than 60 stunning beaches, each with its own charm and pristine waters.

The town of Skiathos - both the island’s only settlement and its capital - is located on the southeast part of the island, nestled along a tranquil bay that is divided by the small peninsula of Bourtzi. . It is a relatively new settlement, founded in 1829–1830 on the site of the island’s ancient town, which dates back to 800 B.C., and is built across two seaside hills. The local architecture of Skiathos reflects a unique blend: traditional island style mixed with elements of Pelion village design, enriched by neoclassical influences (Source: skiathos.gr)

Koukounaries is the most famous beach on Skiathos and one of the best-known in Europe, frequently featured in international rankings of the world's top beaches (skiathos.gr)

Lalaria is located on the northeastern coast of Skiathos and is accessible only by sea—and strictly on days of dead calm—via daily boats departing from the port of Skiathos. It is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece, with its iconic images having travelled the world and helped put Skiathos on the global map. For millennia, the fierce northern winds have sculpted the steep white cliffs that rise dramatically from the sea, shaping the smooth white pebbles known as lalaria, which give the beach its name (skiathos.gr, Photo: visitgreece.gr)

Skiathos Experience - Explore Skiathos

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Serifos, a small island in the western Cyclades, has a long history tied to its iron and copper mines, which brought prosperity from ancient times. After the end of the Greek Revolution in 1830, mining resumed on a large scale, focusing on surface iron deposits and boosting the local economy — albeit under harsh and unsafe conditions. During this period, the island’s population increased by approximately 2,000 people, as workers arrived from other Aegean islands (Paros, Karpathos, Amorgos, etc.) as well as from other regions of Greece (e.g., the Peloponnese) to work in the mines. In August 1916, miners went on strike to improve dangerous working conditions, demand fair wages, and establish the eight-hour workday. Following violent clashes, the mining company was forced to implement improvements. This strike became a landmark moment in the Greek labor movement. Mining eventually declined as resources were depleted, and today, no mining operations remain on the island (Cover photo: The loading bridge at Megalo Livadi, Source: serifos.gr/en). Serifos is now renowned for its beautiful beaches and for having one of the most picturesque Chora (capital town) in the Aegean.

Megalo Livadi is a village that developped around a sheltered bay in the southwest of the island in 1880, during the peak of Serifos’s mining activity. The village featured workers’ homes, a police station, a chemical laboratory, grocery stores, cafes, taverns, and a primary school (operating between 1900 and 1914). In 1890, the offices of the Serifos Spilialeza company, which exploited the island’s mines, were relocated here. They were housed in a neoclassical administrative building known as “Dioikitirio” designed in the style of the famous German architect Ernst Ziller. The building's ruins still stand at the edge of the beach and are currently undergoing restoration (at the right side of the photo above, Source: serifos.gr/en). Nearby stands the Miners’ Memorial, which honors those who lost their lives during the 1916 labor strike. Remnants of the mining era - including galleries, loading bridges, wagons, rail tracks, and building ruins - can still be seen on the bay’s left side.

Historic mining carts near Megalo Livadi loading bridge (upper, Photo: Or. Karamanlis), The Almyros Bathhouse, built in 1898, stands on the rocky coastline of the bay of Mega Livadi, and remains well-preserved despite constant exposure to sea winds and waves. The baths were used by the workers for therapeutic purposes (lower left, Photo: D. Mavrokordatou), Remains of mining equipment at Koutalas loading area (lower right, Photo: V.Pougkakioti) (Source: www.wmf.org/monuments/serifos-historic-mining-landscape)

Serifos’ historic mining landscape in the island’s southwest has been added to the World Monuments Fund’s (WMF) 2024 Watch List for endangered cultural heritage. The inclusion highlights the site’s vulnerability due to tourism development plans. “The island’s historic mining relics, including loading stairs in Megalo Livadi and Koutalas, face deterioration without protective measures”. “Serifos has an invaluable industrial heritage requiring protection to prevent its loss,” the WMF emphasized. Local archaeologist Ourania Vizyinou explained that the local community initiated this nomination after years of concern for the site’s preservation and that it was backed by the National Technical University of Athens and the University of the Aegean. Professor Ioannis Spilanis of the Aegean University said, “We trust this listing will drive collaboration between the Culture Ministry and local stakeholders to preserve the site and its history” (Source: ekathimerini.com)

The Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, in collaboration with the Cultural Association of Megalo Livadi Serifos and Assistant Professor Orestis Karamanlis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), is organizing a multimedia exhibition in summer 2025 titled "In the Years of Modern Mining Activity: Megalo Livadi, Serifos 1880–1960". The exhibition aims to highlight the unique identity and modern history of the area through its mining activity, as well as its intangible cultural heritage. It features AI-restored historical photos, rare press material, and archival content from the municipality, the miners' association, and local residents. The project seeks to uncover the often-overlooked recent past of Serifos – particularly of Megalo Livadi - while engaging both residents and visitors with this heritage.  It also encourages awareness of the area's dinstict identity and promotes collaboration toward a better-managed and more sustainable future for Serifos (Source: cyclades.culture.gov.gr, exhibition25.megalivadi.org/)

The exhibition is hosted at the Archaeological Museum of Serifos, housed in the former Municipal Hostel "Perseus," a building designed by architect Philippos Vokos between 1962 and 1963. It is a typical example of modernist architecture, reflecting the distinctive typology of the Xenia hotels—a network of publicly owned accommodations built in Greece during the 1950s and 1960s as part of a government initiative to develop the country’s tourism infrastructure. (Source: cyclades.culture.gov.gr)

Workers at the mines of Serifos, late 1880s (Photo: National Historical Museum of Athens, Source: exhibition25.megalivadi.org/).

Megalo Livadi in the late 1880s. Visible are the two ore loading ramps, one at the right and one at the left end of the bay. The elongated neoclassical building on the right is the Dioikitirio, the residence of the German mining contractor Emile Grohmann (Photo: National Historical Museum of Athens, Source: exhibition25.megalivadi.org/).

The exhibition about the island’s Modern Mining Activity enters into dialogue with Bob McCabe’s photographic exhibition “The Magic of Serifos”, which will also remain open to visitors this summer (photos above)

Serifos is an island with a glorious history, and a distinct character character of its own. Visitors are struck by the serenity of the landscape, as all the senses become attuned to its natural beauty. Composed of iron and granite, Serifos is the rockiest island in the Cyclades. Although arid, it boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the Aegean Sea. The island’s villages are built in the traditional Cycladic style: whitewashed houses with brightly colored window frames that harmonize beautifully with the surrounding landscape.

In Homer's Odyssey, it is said that the island of Cyclops Polyphemus was Serifos, and that his residence was the “Cave of Cyclops”, located beneath the “Throne of Cyclops” near the settlement of Megalo Livadi (phohto left, Source: e-serifos.com).  According to the myth, Perseus arrived on the shores of Serifos with his mother, Danae, locked in a chest. To punish Polydectes, King of Serifos, Perseus killed the Gorgon Medusa - a mythical creature with living snakes for hair - and showed her severed head to Polydectes, who was instantly turned to stone. Perseus then lay down to rest. However, the frogs of Serifos, with their relentless singing, would not let him sleep. Annoyed, he asked Zeus to silence them. This story gave rise to the ancient expression "Serifian frog", which was used pejoratively to mock someone who lacked rhetorical skill. The archaic silver stater of Serifos (c. 580 BC), was based on a pun referencing the “Serifian frog” (photo right)

Chora is among the most beautiful villages in the Cyclades. Small whitewashed houses cover the rocky hillside overlooking the cove and Livadi, the island’s port. The village consists of two neighbourhoods - Pano Chora (Upper Chora, also known as Castro, meaning Castle) and Kato Chora (Lower Chora) - connected by a series of stairways. The entire layout of the town exudes harmony and elegant simplicity. The castle was constructed by the Venetians in the 15^th century on the ruins of an ancient settlement. Upon reaching the top, where picturesque chapels stand, visitors are rewarded with breathtaking views of the vast blue sky and the equally blue sea below. At the Piatsa, the marble-paved square in the heart of Ano Chora, stands the beautiful neoclassical Town Hall, built in 1907. (Source: visitgreece.gr)  

The White Tower (Aspros Pyrgos), a circular marble structure of the Late Classical to Hellenistic period, is a significant monument, dated between the 4^th and the 3^rd centuries BC. Built from large white marble blocks, it originally stood about 12 meters high and included a ground floor and two upper levels arranged in a circular layout. Today, only a portion of the structure survives, with a maximum remaining height of nearly 5 meters. Its architectural features, along with the panoramic view from its location, suggest it was used as an observatory. In the late 19^th century, a small cemetery and a church dedicated to Agios Charalambos were established nearby, incorporating marble stones from the ancient tower into their construction. (Source: serifos.gr/en)

Serifos is renowned for having some of the most beautiful beaches in the Aegean, with over 70 scattered along its intricate, lacy coastline. The island is dotted with numerous small and larger bays, accessible on foot, by road, or by boat—inviting visitors to explore and discover their own slice of paradise. Most of the island’s beaches remain unorganized and naturally preserved, retaining their timeless, untouched beauty. (Source: serifos.gr/en/paralies/)

Livadakia is located just below the settlement of the same name, next to the port on the south side of the island. It is home to the only organized campsite on Serifos. The golden sandy beach is shaded by numerous tamarisk trees, providing a pleasant spot for visitors to relax. (Source: serifos.gr/en)

Psili Ammos is considered the most famous beach on the island and was named the best beach in Europe by The Sunday Times in 2003. Its turquoise waters and fine golden sand create a dreamy setting. The shallow waters make it ideal for carefree family moments, while plenty of tamarisk trees provide ample shade during the summer months. (Source: serifos.gr/en/)

Ganema is one of the largest and most picturesque beaches on Serifos, located on the south side of the island. Known for its crystal-clear waters, dark sand, and abundant tamarisk trees lining the shore, it is considered one of the island’s most beautiful beaches. At sunset, the sun dipping into the sea creates one of the most breathtaking moments of the day. (Source: serifos.gr/en)

The beach of Agios Sostis is located on the east side of the island and takes its name from the chapel of the same name, situated on the nearby cape. It is arguably the most picturesque beach on Serifos—a small bay of exceptional natural beauty, shaded by a few tamarisk trees. (Source: serifos.gr/en)

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The post Serifos: The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Its Mining Activity appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The modern city of Athens is often perceived as a concrete jungle filled with tall apartment buildings; this building type, the polykatoikía, and its omnipresence in the Greek capital, is often considered to be dreary and unartistic. In recent years, however, the polykatoikía has been the subject of a reappraisal by academics, architects and urban theorists. The architectural, social and economic significance of these modernist apartment blocks, which line one street after another, has been revisited in the light of historical and contemporary urban contexts. A more anthropocentric vision is therefore applied, highlighting values such as simplicity and accessibility, as well as the liveliness and sociability of the city.

Background: Modern architecture and Greek exoticism

In 1933, the Fourth Congress of the Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM IV) was held in Athens, bringing together dozens of renowned architects from all over the world to discuss the new modern city of their time. Iconic architect Le Corbusier was among its organizers. The congress proved to be a turning point for modern Greek architecture, offering it a unique opportunity to define its identity in relation to the international avant-garde.

The conference culminated in the Athens Charter, which laid the foundation for urban planning based on four key functions: housing, work, recreation, and circulation. It advocated for the zoning of cities to improve living conditions, a concept that shaped post-war urban development.

The urban sprawl of Athens, an ancient city that returned to prominence as the capital of the modern Greek state in the first half of the 19th century, was not the result of industrial development, but rather of a series of events that led to population flows to the big cities. Yet a number of important modern buildings (schools, residential buildings, factories etc.) had just been completed in Athens.

Greek architects' faith in modern architecture was also demonstrated in an imaginative way by connecting modern architecture with traditional Greek architecture, which at the time seemed exotic to everyone. Greek architectural features (particularly those of the Cycladic islands) such as simple structures, abstract forms, absence of decoration, emphasis on functionality, etc. were considered modernist characteristics, if not the foundation of modernism (Kostas Tsiambaos, 2020 [in Greek]).

“Antiparochi”: the way to apartment building supremacy

In the post-war period, the Greek Civil War of 1946-49, together with a shift from rural work to industrial labor, led to a continued migration from the countryside to the big cities. This created an urgent need for housing, leading to the intense urbanization of the Greek capital after 1950. During this period and until the late 1970s, the population of Athens’ metropolitan area more than doubled, with the entire city experiencing an unprecedented construction boom.

In the central neighborhoods of Athens it was difficult to find enough space for the construction of apartment buildings. The 1929 law of horizontal ownership helped create the system of antiparochi, which could be roughly translated as "counter-providing": a landowner could turn over a plot of land to a constructor, who would build a where a polykatoikía where one or two-story house used to stand. In return, they would gain ownership of an agreed number of apartments in the finished building. Given that the Greek state could not afford to directly finance a social housing program, this system helped give the working classes access to low-cost housing. (By way of illustration, in 2011, 93.3% of the population of the municipality of Athens lived in multi-storey buildings, 75.5% of which were built before 1980.)

Whereas the multi-storey buildings of the inter-war period were designed by renowned architects such as Kitsikis, Nikolaidis and Panagiotakos, who sought to develop a modern urban typology using decorative forms from Art Deco, Bauhaus and Cubism, the polykatoikía of the post-war period became a product of real estate speculation for building contractors. Easily reproducible thanks to standardized plans, quick to erect and simple to finance, it became widespread as a type of housing for the working classes.

Building contractors would build apartment buildings, often selling the apartments before construction was completed; the first plans were drawn up in order to obtain a building permit, sometimes with minimal input from an architect, whose name did not always appear on official documents. These plans were based on “turnkey” sketches that could be easily adapted to a wide variety of situations  (Olga Moatsou-Ess, 2018).

Even this period, however, saw the creation of some important buildings by renowned architects of the time such as Valsamakis, Konstantinidis and Tombazis. These types of polykatoikía, addressed at the upper classes, were featured in leading architectural journals, introducing a European-influenced modernity that helped shape a new generation of Greek architects.

From strong criticism to reappraisal

The antiparochi system has been much lamented, blamed for the architectural homogenization and even the perceived “ugliness” of Athens – and the rest of Greece’s large urban centers. It should be noted that the absence of state planning of urban development, particularly during the 1960s-1970s, contributed to a lack of urban cohesion, with negative impacts on both aesthetics and the environment.

The houses formerly occupying the sites where uniform concrete apartment blocks would be built were often residential houses of the neoclassical rhythm; neoclassicism was the first architectural style introduced in Athens. Some of the most important buildings of the late 19^th and early 20^th century are still preserved today. However, the vast majority of the less historic ones vanished as a result of the construction boom.

Nostalgia for a time when small streets were lined with quaint houses, and neighbors could sit and chat in backyards full of flower pots, often makes people hostile towards the bleak facades of concrete apartment buildings. However, in their reminiscences, people tend to overlook the fact that many of the older buildings, especially the smaller ones where poorer families resided, were far from what one would call comfortable: the electricity grid was often rudimentary, there was no central heating and often no proper bathrooms – the lavatory was usually an outhouse and people would often bathe in small tubs filled with water from the sink. The then-new apartment buildings didn’t just offer affordable housing, but also a good quality of life.

This attitude is however slowly changing. As journalist Harry van Versendaal points out, the “stereotypical image of the Greek capital as a cluttered concrete jungle, has, in recent years, undergone a reappraisal […] Scholars, architects and urban theorists have increasingly reevaluated the architectural, social and economic significance of these modernist apartment buildings”.

This reevaluation is reflected in various publications and events, such as Goethe Institute’s exhibition Athens’ Polykatoikias 1930-1975: Formation of a Typology; addressing the opening of the exhibition, Myrto Kiourti, an award-winning Athens-based architect, said that, thanks to the values of Modern architecture, “Athens achieved one of Modernism’s main goals: decent housing for all”.

According to British architect, critic and historian Kenneth Frampton, the apartment block in Athens is a unique modern manifestation of urban development, resulting from the spontaneous evolution of society, rather than from planned intervention.

The Athenian polykatoikía has been the subject of the Ioanna Theocharopoulou’s book Builders, Housewives and the Construction of Modern Athens (Onassis Publications, 2022), which offers a critical re-evaluation of the city as a successful adaptation to circumstance, enriching our understanding of urbanism as a truly collective design activity. Theocharopoulou, an architect and architectural historian, re-evaluates the polykatoikía as a low-tech, easily constructible innovation that stimulated the postwar urban economy, triggering the city’s social mid-twentieth-century transformation.

According to her, the process of creating a broader middle class through real estate development contributed to the reduction of the social, ideological and cultural divides of the interwar period, as well as healing the wounds of the civil war.

Inspired by Theocharopoulou’s book, a documentary of the same title has been made by film directors Tassos Langis and Yiannis Gaitanidis. As they stated, they used the book as a starting point and guide as they “delved into the cracks of our modern urban history to trace the internal immigrants who were the ‘co-authors’ of our built environment”.

Builders, Housewives and the Construction of Modern Athens at the Onassis Channel on YouTube:

Athenian modernism once more at the forefront

A different take on the Athenian urban landscape was identified as early as the 2000s. Impressively, Greece's participation in the 2002 Venice Biennale was entitled “Athens 2002: Absolute Realism”. Athenian modernism is once again in the spotlight, but no longer through “official” modernism. It is not the image of a tourist Athens that is showcased, but the anonymous, graffitied, marginal and even “ugly” aspects of the city.

In 2016 the online platform “Social Atlas of Athens” was created with the aim of highlighting and recording the social geography of Athens. The platform, supported by the Onassis Foundation, aims to raise awareness of the key structures and processes shaping the city's social fabric.

Similarly, research at pan-European level has begun to treat Athens' “anonymous” modernity differently. Doctoral theses and research projects at leading institutions in Europe and America (Richard Woditsch, Olga Moatsou, Plato Isaias, Ioanna Theocharopoulou etc.), were now discussing the common and typical Athenian apartment building in terms of an alternative, “marginal” modernity, one that distanced itself from the experience of the developed world.

Theocharopoulou, for example, introduces new conceptual tools to document the particularities of this development, drawing on a number of different sources, which are not limited to the architectural and urban history of Athens but extend to social history, anthropology, gender studies, the evolution of language and the study of shadow theater.

For its advocates, the concept of polykatoikía ultimately embodies the fundamental philosophy of modernist architecture: “Form follows function” - the appearance and structure of a building must be determined first and foremost by its use and purpose. As they point out: “The true beauty of a city lies in the way it is inhabited. Athens is an attractive city. However, it is attractive not because of its beautiful buildings, but because of its attractive way of life.”

N.M. (Partly based on the article “The ‘polykatoikia’ of the 1960s-1970s as an essential element of Athens' “anonymous” modernity” which appeared on Grèce Hebdo)

Read also via Greek News Agenda: The Fourth CIAM Congress of 1933 in Athens and the foundations of Western urbanism; Open House Athens: “Future Heritage: The Architecture of Today, the Heritage of Tomorrow”; Bookshelf: Exploring Greek Architecture

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The “syrmata” (wires) buildings on the island of Milos are traditional small, single-room structures built directly along the coast in small fishing villages. Historically, they were used as boat storage, as shelters during the harsh winter months, or as workshops. They are either fully or partially carved into the volcanic rocks of the island and are just large enough to store a boat (typically about 6 meters long). Some “syrmata” were expanded with a second floor, providing living space for the fishermen. They are characterized by colorful, vibrant wooden doors. The fishermen typically selected the same color for the “syrmata” as their boat, as the buildings were frequently painted with leftover paint from painting the boats. Blue, red, and yellow were the most common colors. They can be found as individual buildings or in groups, usually arranged in a radial layout along the shoreline, following the natural shape of a sheltered bay. (Cover photo: Klima, a traditional fishing village with colorful two-story "syrmata" built into the natural cavities of the rocks, Source: visit.milos.gr)

Firopotamos, a seaside settlement with a creek surrounded by “syrmata”

In total, there are 14 closely-knit groups of “syrmata” on Milos. Most of them are located in the northern and eastern parts of the island, in coastal areas and fishermen villages such as Aghios Konstantinos, Alogomandra, Empourios, Kaminia, Mandrakia, Mytakas, Pachaina, Provatas, Schinopi, Fyriplaka and Fyropotamos, as well as in the traditional settlements of Klima, Areti and Fourkovouni.

“Syrmata” are an example of adaptive architecture—buildings that were designed with specific practical purposes in mind, but over time, they have evolved into an integral and iconic part of the island's architectural, cultural and tourism landscape.

Colorful “syrmata” at Firopotamos, nestled in the white volcanic rocks

Areti (left) and Fourkovouni (right), small fishing villages with colorful “syrmata” (Source: visit.milos.gr)

In recent years, many “syrmata” buildings have lost their traditional function as boat storage facilities and are being converted into private residences or tourist accommodations, often with incongruous additions. In an effort to halt alterations to these local treasures, the General Secretariat for the Aegean and Island Policy has decided to classify them as protected edifices. An initial group of 52 buildings in Mandrakia has already received this status.

Mandrakia, a traditional fishing village, surrounded by colorful “syrmata”

Manolis Koutoulakis, General Secretary for the Aegean and Island Policy, told Kathimerini newspaper that “the syrmata are an image closely tied to Milos, a part of the island’s intangible cultural heritage. They are fine examples of local architectural tradition and landmarks of the island”. “The first attempt to record and protect them was made many years ago but was never completed. We decided to restart the process recently with the help of the Department for Preserved Buildings and Natural Beauty, due to the growing pressure to turn them into accommodations – something that leads to the distortion of these structures and the loss of their character. In total, there are 14 closely-knit groups of “syrmata” on Milos (we are not focusing on individual ones), and we’re starting with Mandrakia, one of the best-preserved clusters.” (Source: Kathimerini newspaper)

 “Syrmata" at Mandrakia (left - commons.wikimedia.org), “Syrmata” at Mytakas carved into volcanic rocks (right - commons.wikimedia.org)

Traditional fishing boats (kaikia) at Mandrakia

The General Secretariat's decision requires that designated buildings be preserved in their original form, excluding later additions, and that surrounding features like pathways, courtyards and stairways be protected as well. Any modifications to the "syrmata" must be removed, restoring their original appearance. The most significant and controversial aspect is the strict limits on their use. Beyond their original purpose as boat shelters or private residences, only small local product shops, cultural venues (e.g., exhibition areas, folk museums or art workshops), and local association offices will be permitted. Accommodations would require a tourism license, which is not feasible due to the design of the structures.

Tripiti, a traditional well-preserved settlement, almost united with Plaka (the capital of the island), built amphitheatrically over the ruins of the classic city of Klima. Its name is due to its soft volcanic rocks, which looked like holes, as well as to the many holes that are carved in the rock on which it is built. (Source: visit.milos.gr)

Located in the southwest part of the Cyclades, Milos boasts a unique range of natural landscapes shaped by volcanic activity. This is reflected in the island's abundance of hot springs, caves, and geological formations.

Milos has a rich history that dates back to ancient times. The island was inhabited as early as the Neolithic period, and its strategic location made it a significant trading hub in antiquity. It was known for its mineral resources, particularly high-quality obsidian, which was used for tools and traded across the Aegean. During the classical era, Milos became famous for its marble. The island is home to numerous significant archaeological sites, including the Bronze Age settlement of Phylakopi, the ancient city at Klima (where the renowned marble statue of Venus of Milo was discovered), the early Christian catacombs, and several interesting museums, such as the Mining Museum, which showcases Milos’ 11.000-years-old mineral history.

The “Lady of Phylakopi”, wheel-made figurine of a goddess or priestess, 45 cm, Late Helladic IIIA period, Phylakopi III, 14^th c BC (left), Pithos jar from Phylakopi III, 14^th c BC (right), Milos Archaeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum of Milos is housed in a neoclassical building of 1870, designed by Ernst Ziller. The museum’s exhibits date from the Neolithic period until Late Antiquity and have been aggregated from the important Prehistoric settlement of Phylakopi in their majority, as well as from other sites of the island. (Source: archaeologicalmuseums.gr)

The ancient Roman Theater was originally built by the inhabitants of the ancient city of Klima, probably during the Hellenistic era (3^rd century BC). However, after the destruction of the city by the Athenians, on top of the surviving bases of the classical building was built a larger one with Parian all-white marble and wonderful reliefs, during the Roman years, which is estimated to hold about 7,000 spectators. (Source: visit.milos.gr)

With more than 75 beaches around the island, Milos is blessed with stunning and pristine shores. This volcanic land, a true wonder of nature, has become a renowned and beloved destination, featuring dramatic lacy shores sculpted by strong winds and powerful waves. Milos boasts an impressive variety of beaches, some with soft white sand, others with pebbly bays surrounded by stones and rocks in shades of white, red, yellow or even black. Visitors can choose from fully organized beaches or quieter, wilder spots with unique colors and varying depths in the sea.

Kleftiko, located in the south of the island, is a remarkable set of gray and white rocks with unique shapes and formations, some of which lead to sandy beaches. Caves and pits, created over centuries by the forces of air and sea, add to its intriguing landscape. The area was once used as a shelter and base by pirates, which is how it got its name.  (Source: visit.milos.gr)

Sarakiniko, the most famous beach in the north of the island, is renowned for its unique lunar landscape. The beach gets its name from its historical use by pirates as a shelter, and the ship’s bollards, still carved into the rock, are a testament to this. The striking whiteness of the rocks, combined with the lack of vegetation, creates a one-of-a-kind atmosphere that visitors are unlikely to forget. (Source: visit.milos.gr)

Next to the ruins of the ancient city of Phylakopi, in the north of the island, are the three caves of Papafragas. Visitors can descend a steep carving in the rock to swim in the turquoise waters, surrounded by gray and white rocks that lead out to the open sea. (Source: visit.milos.gr)

Paliochori beach, located in the south of the island, stretches nearly 2 km and is extremely popular. It features colorful pebbles, coarse sand, and crystal-clear waters. Visitors have the opportunity to experience unique and striking views, a result of the volcanic energy and geological vitality of the area. (Source: visit.milos.gr)

Theiorycheia (the sulfur mines) is one of the island's geological attractions, where visitors can observe wagons on their tracks, old rusty tools, and unused spare parts in the warehouse, all while enjoying a swim in the clear waters and exploring the wild, mysterious landscape. The sulfur mines were in operation until 1956. (Source: visit.milos.gr)

Read also: Cycladic architecture, stunningly blending with the endless blue of the Aegean Sea

I.A.

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The island of Tinos is located in the Cyclades, close to Mykonos, and is mostly famous for the Panagia Evangelistria church and the reputedly miraculous icon of Virgin Mary that it houses. This is, however, not the only landmark closely linked with the island’s cultural identity; the dovecotes that can be found exclusively in the Cycladic islands, and particularly in Tinos, catch the eye with their characteristic structure.

These white-washed, elaborately decorated small buildings, called peristeriones or columbaria (from peristeri and columba, the Greek and Latin word for dove, respectively) are build in slopes sheltered from the strong winds of the Cyclades and close to water sources, such as springs, and their facades are facing towards the open space. Many have two or even three stories, in which case the ground floor is usually of larger dimensions. If the site is not protected enough from the wind, there are one or two side walls, to create a windbreak.

The entrance door is wooden with no cracks to prevent predators who prey on doves and pigeons -such as snakes or rats- from entering the building. The upper part of the dovecote has numerous openings, small enough so that only doves can get in and out, and not larger birds such as crows or others. These pigeon holes are created using slabs of shale, a local fissile rock, often forming various ornamental shapes. The roof is flat, made of clay, and its four corners are always adorned with small pillars.

History

In 1207, following the Fourth Crusade, the island of Tinos was occupied by Venetians; first it was seized by the powerful Ghisi family and in 1390 it was bequeathed to the Republic of Venice, which held it until its capture by the Ottomans in 1715. It is believed that pigeon farming was introduced to the island by the Venetians, who kept the birds primailry for their droppings, since bird guano is a highly effective fertilizer, widely used in agriculture until the start of the 20^th century.

In Medieval Europe, the possession of a dovecote was a symbol of status and was in fact regulated by law. Only nobles had this special privilege, known as droit de colombier. After the island came under Ottoman rule, locals also had the right to keep pigeons, as long as they owned land. Many dovecotes were built in Tinos in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, and locals kept pigeons not just for the guano but also for their meat. Today, the island is home to more than 1000 dovecotes.

In 2021, a book was published under the title The Dovecotes of Tinos. Strolling Through the Craft of Stonemasonry in 1955; it contains a selection of notes by Manuel Baud-Bovy, a student of the Geneva School of Architecture who visited Tinos for the first time in 1955, and was impressed by these peculiar structures. He explored the island and recorded hundreds of dovecotes. Another book on the subject had been published in 2020: The complete listing of the dovecotes of Tinos by Manthos Prelorentzos.

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Supporting music as well as theatrical education since 1871, the Athens Conservatoire is the oldest institution for the performing arts in Greece and has played a significant role in the advancement of music studies in Greece.  The Athens Conservatoire Centre for Research and Documentation (KETOA), was founded in 2016 with the aim of preserving, curating and bringing to the spotlight the valuable archives and library of the Conservatoire.

From June 2023 until January 2024, KETOA is collaborating with EMSΤ (National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens) for the exhibition Iannis Xenakis and Greece, held at EMST from June 1 2023 until January 7, 2024.The exhibition explores the iconic composer’s controversial relationship with his ancestral homeland.

The exhibition “Iannis Xenakis and Greece” draws from the extensive historical archive of and CMRC (Contemporary Music Research Centre), an organization that was founded by Xenakis himself in 1979, along with the composer Stefanos Vassileiadis, the musicologist, teacher and architect-urbanist John G. Papaioannou, and 22 others, now hosted at KETOA. Rare documents and items, including original handwritten letters and texts by Xenakis, articles, music scores, event programmes, photographs, recordings, videos, and various objects, such as the UPIC (the electronic composition system he invented), cast light on his multi-faceted relationship with Greece, testifying to the fact that contemporary, avant-garde music in Greece has a longer and more sophisticated history than is widely believed.

Visitors are able to follow Xenakis as he takes his first steps into the world of music and architecture, and through his letters, gain insight into his thoughts, concerns, and nostalgia for his homeland and his dreams for the future of the arts in Greece. His relationships with prominent figures in the musical milieu of Greece, such as John G. Papaioannou and composer Manos Hatzidakis, who valued and promoted Xenakis’s work during his period of self-exile in France, are set against Greece’s musical and cultural background of the time. Featured prominently are the five “Hellenic Weeks of Contemporary Music”, an initiative for pioneering musical creation that became a context for presenting Xenakis’s work as early as 1966.

The exhibition places particular emphasis on Xenakis’s activities after his return to Greece in 1974, through the presentation of the Mycenae Polytope (1978) and the founding of CMRC (1979). Both are regarded as integral for the realization of his musical and pedagogical vision. Through the archives of the CRMC collection, many items from which are on display for the first time, the exhibition Iannis Xenakis and Greece engenders a new reading of the tumultuous and often contradictory relationship between Xenakis and the cultural and political environment of contemporary Greece.

EMST is also hosting another exhibition on Xenakis - co-produced with Philharmonie de Paris, under the title Iannis Xenakis - Sonic Odysseys. The exhibition focuses on the most important and ground-breaking work of Xenakis’s visual, literary, architectural, and musical output, while illuminating his personal history by contextualizing the composer in his times, and the political and cultural movements that defined him as an artist.

The Athens Conservatoire Centre for Research and Documentation (KETOA)

The material held at KETOA is relevant not just to the history of the Athens Conservatoire itself, but also the history of musical life in Greece and, in some cases, the political history of modern Greece. The research conducted at the Archives aims also at challenging the still dominant perception that art music never actually existed in Greece.

Besides the historical archive of the Conservatoire, other archives and collections that have been donated or granted to KETOA. Among these are: the archive of the Chormouzios-Papaioannou Foundation, which includes the aforementioned archive of the  Contemporary Music Research Centre (CMRC or ΚΣΥΜΕ in Greek) founded by Iannis Xenakis, the Archive - Collection of Stathis Arfanis, the music archive of composer of the Hellenic National School Dionysios Lavragas, and the archive of the great Greek avant-garde composer and thinker Jani Christou. A large part of the material has been classified and digitized and is available to researchers and anyone interested upon consultation. This valuable material, up to now largely unknown and underutilized in research, has fueled numerous exhibitions, lectures and concerts organized by KETOA in recent years.

Since September 2013, the Hellenic Music Research Lab of the Ionian University has undertaken the responsibility of classifying and digitizing the Archive of the Conservatoire, a work still in progress.

Publishing Activity

KETOA has embarked on as series of publishing projects, focused on Greek musical creation, among which is the magazine Neos Mousikos Hellinomnemon. The magazine’s issue 11, which has just been released, includes a research article on Maria Kallas and her studies at the Athens Conservatory, based on the relevant material of the Conservatory's archive, as part of KETOA's activities for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the former student of the Athens Conservatory.

The most important publishing project for promoting musical creation and activity in Greece, is however, the three-volume History of Music in Modern Greece) edited and written by a large team of distinguished scientists and researchers. The edition, tracking the history of Greek music from as early as 1453 going up to the year 2000, is accompanied by six compact discs with unknown or rare recordings of works of classical Greek music. The first volume has already been released and is almost sold out, and the other two are to be released soon.The Centre believes that his edition will decisively change the concept of what Greek music is on an international level, putting it on the map of musical studies where it belongs, among other European countries.

Future Projects

Among the immediate plans of KETOA are the organization of an event in memory of esteemed composer Dionysios Lavragas and his work - on the occasion of the recent grant of his music archive to the Athens Conservatory, as well as a publication for the archive - collection of Stathis Arfanis, who also generously donated his collection to the Athens Conservatory.

KETOA's future plans include the creation of a Greek Music Repository, dedicated to preserving the country’s rich musical heritage. Although in recent years many uncollected works of Greek musical production have been identified, a great number of them remain lost or forgotten. KETOA considers of the utmost importance the effort to collect as many works as possible (scores, recordings, etc.) to be stored and managed in this future Repository. Finally, the creation of a Museum that will house all the treasures kept at KETOA and make them accessible to the general public, is another project that the Centre considers essential.

I.L.

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On the island of Leros in the Dodecanese archipelago of the Aegean Sea you can find a strange town that looks like an old movie set. This is the town of Lakki, or Porto Lago as it was originally called when it was built in the 1930s, during the Italian occupation of the Dodecanese. Some of its buildings have been declared monuments by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

The town's strategic position

The town's history began in the early 20th century; the Dodecanese islands –which, until then, formed part of the Ottoman Empire– came under Italian rule (with the exception of Kastellorizo) in 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War (1911-12). Boasting a strategic position and one of the largest natural harbors in southern Europe, the island would later be chosen by Mussolini as the main base of the Italian Royal Navy in the Dodecanese, in his quest to control the eastern Mediterranean.

In 1923, the Gianni Rossetti aeronautical base was established in the area of Lepida, with hangars for seaplanes, military facilities and a few houses. "But the ever-increasing need for housing for officers and their families led the Italian administration to establish a new town, Porto Lago, on the opposite coast," explains professor Vassilios Colonas in his book Italian Architecture in the Dodecanese Islands, 1912-1943.

The town of Porto Lago was founded as a new model town. Its name is a play on words, partly inspired by the shape of the bay, which resembles a lake (lago in Italian), but predominantly honoring Mario Lago, Governor of the Italian Aegean Islands from 1922 to 1936, who was in charge of an ambitious infrastructure project on Leros.

Florestano di Fausto, a famous architect of the time, whose works can also be found on the islands of Rhodes and Kos, was invited to plan the town. However, it was architects Rodolfo Petracco and Armando Bernabiti who were eventually commissioned with building the model city in the port to house thousands of Italians, mainly military personnel and their families. Construction started in the late 1920s and would continue into the late 1930s.

Italian rationalist architecture

At the time, the entire bay was an uninhabited marshland, and the authorities began filling the site with tons of concrete imported from Italy. Petracco and Bernabiti carefully studied the area and began planning their utopian city from scratch according to the criteria of the new Italian urban planning model. Today, the town of Porto Lago (renamed Lakki after the unification of the Dodecanese islands with Greece in 1948) is one of the most representative examples of Italian rationalist architecture.

Rationalism is an architectural movement that emerged in early 20th-century Italy, emphasizing functional design based on the principles of logic, functionalism and internationalism. It drew inspiration from emerging trends such as modernism and futurism, as well as from the classical geometry of ancient Greek and Roman temples.

This new trend was in accordance with the aspirations of the Fascist party leader: to demonstrate that progress and adaptation to a new age of young ideas were fundamental concepts in Italy's bid to become an economic and political power. At the same time, the new Italian Fascist regime was actively attempting to "Italianize" the Dodecanese by making Italian language learning compulsory, encouraging inhabitants to acquire Italian nationality and abolishing Greek institutions.

The model town of Porto Lago

Everything in the town of Porto Lago, from the public buildings to the residential buildings, was built according to the principles of rationalism, creating a unified architectural ensemble. The church, theater, school, hospital, artillery barracks, hotel and the market with its clock tower form a uniquely coherent architectural whole, created on the basis of harmony and order.

On the eastern perimeter, a railroad would carry goods from the port to customs. Adjacent to this, we find the commercial zone, with a cinema, a market and a hotel. Inside the city, the residential zone consists of separate buildings for officers and workers. Large squares were laid out and hundreds of pine and eucalyptus trees were planted.

The houses are cylindrical and cubic buildings with extensive gardens. There are buildings with simple but impressive facades, white walls, curves and recessed windows, a blend of art deco and Bauhaus. The buildings are characterized by large, rough surfaces and a combination of simple geometric volumes and simple curved or straight lines, with large windows devoid of decorative elements, which only define the use (tubular railings, handrails, etc.).

The most important buildings

Cinema Roma

The building, constructed in 1938, forms a single complex with the adjacent hotel Albergo Roma. Today, it has been fully restored and functions as both a cinema and a theater.

The Municipality and Casa Littoria

This multi-purpose building in the central square facing the sea served as a town hall, pharmacy and post office. The part facing the sea was known as Casa Littoria and served as the headquarters of several Fascist associations. The building was destroyed during the Second World War and is now used for a variety of purposes, including cafés, restaurants and stores.

Albergo Roma hotel

The hotel was built as a single block, together with the adjacent cinema-theater. After the Dodecanese became part of Greece in 1948, the building reopened as a hotel, renamed "Hotel Leros", which operated until the mid-1980s. Today, reconstruction works are underway, and the building is set to be redeveloped into a multi-purpose cultural space.

The eastern part of the town was a military zone, with naval barracks (Caserma Marinai), infantry barracks (Caserma Regina), a large warehouse (Grande Magazzino), a hospital, and other auxiliary buildings.

Mediterranean rationalism

In his book Italian Architecture in the Dodecanese Islands, 1912-1943, Professor of Architectural History Vassilios Colonas points out that, even within the context of the Rationalist movement, Lakki remains a unique case; he in fact speaks of "Mediterranean rationalism", influenced by the characteristics of Mediterranean island architecture (white surfaces, cubes, flat roofs) as opposed to rigid, monotonous and needlessly monumental examples of Rationalism in Italy.

The city is considered the only truly Rationalist city outside of Italy. It is also "the only European city designed and built in the 20th century from scratch, without being an extension of an existing city", says architect Dimitris Isichos in his book The town of Lakki on Leros "La citta di Portolago".

Architects Petracco and Bernabiti were inspired by the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico, alluding to the great painter's "metaphysical city", as well as by the geometry of ancient temples and the optimistic modernism of Art Deco. There's a sense of playfulness and perhaps absurdity in their creations, and they seem to have escaped Italy's tightened political control. The result is one of the 20th century's most daring and unique experiments in architecture and urban planning. Construction was interrupted by the Second World War, and the original plan was never completed.

The "Battle of Leros" in WWII (1943, part of the Allied campaign to capture the Dodecanese Islands) provided the general context of the fictional 1957 novel The Guns of Navarone and its successful 1961 film adaptation. The island was subject to heavy bombing, filling its waters with wrecks and relics. After the end of the war, Italian inhabitants of Lakki left. Part of the facilities in Lakki and the Lepida region were used to house the Leros hospital, which mainly functioned as a psychiatric hospital. During the dictatorship, a camp for political prisoners was set up in Lakki and Partheni.

The residences of the Italian officers passed into the hands of the island's inhabitants, while some of the colony's most emblematic buildings, such as the hotel and the cinema, are now owned by the municipality of Leros. Today, Lakki has fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, whereas at its peak in the late 1930s, the town was home to over 8,000 people.

Declaration as monuments by Ministry of Culture

The buildings of Caserma Marinai, known nowadays as Poseidonion, the Grande Magazino in Gonia, in Lakki, and the Aerophone building and its surrounding area, in Patella, were declared historical monuments by Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, as "they are evidence of the development of the area from architectural, cultural and historical perspective".

With the aim of promoting the cultural heritage and unique architectural and town-planning traits of Leros, the Ministry of Culture, together with the National Technical University of Athens and the University of Thessaly, has drawn up a strategic plan for the integrated management, protection and promotion of the island's monuments.

Read also via Greek News Agenda: Kastellorizo: Greece's remotest island; The medieval city of Rhodes; Kassos, the small Greek island that goes for a sustainable, green growth

N. M. Based on an original article which appeared on GrèceHebdo (Intro image: Caserma Marinai; All images ©Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, except where noted)

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The Lycabettus Theater is an open-air theater built on the site of a former limestone quarry on Mount Lycabettus in Athens. The hill is the highest in the center of Athens with a height of 285 meters, and offers a panoramic view of the city. After 15 years of "silence", the theater reopens its gates on September 15, 2023, fully renovated.

The site of the old quarry had been used as a venue for a theater production at some point in the 1930s. The decision to build the open-air theater dates back to the early 1960s, on an initiative by Anna Synodinou (1927-2016), a prominent stage actress who had been distinguished for her performances in ancient drama productions, and who made it her life's goal to bring ancient tragedies closer to Athenian audiences.

After she left the national Theater of Greece in 1964, to form her own company, the actress decided to build a theater where productions of ancient drama could be staged, with state-of-the-art facilities, a large capacity and affordable tickets. To this end, she asked for the collaboration of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO-Visit Greece) which aided with the construction process with the aim of also using the theater as a venue for some events of the Athens Festival (now Athens-Epidaurus Festival).

The GNTO bought the land from the Petraki Monastery, to which it belonged, and a 20-year lease was awarded to Synodinou, following a competition. Takis Zenetos, one of the leading figures of 20th century Greek architecture (who had also designed the Fix Factory at Syggrou Avenue (now the seat of Greece's National Contemporary Art Museum, EMST), was commissioned to design the theater. He chose the solution of a prefabricated metal structure, which not only helped save time but also limited any permanent irreversible changes to the natural site; the construction was undertaken by a Greek metal company.

The Lycabettus Theater was inaugurated on June 12, 1965, with a performance of Sophocles' Antigone by the theater company of Anna Synodinou, who held the title role. It had a capacity of 3,000 seats. Apart from Greek drama productions, it also housed music concerts, with the first one being a performance by American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz, as part of the 1967 Athens Festival.

Along the years, the theater has come to be known primarily as a venue for music events. Many international musical artists of great fame have since graced the theater, including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Ray Charles, Joan Baez, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Leonard Cohen, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath, Nick Cave, Bjork, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and Radiohead.

In 2008 the theater was temporarily closed down due to safety concerns, to ensure its structural stability. The project of its renovation was delayed due to the country’s financial situation at the time. The site has been acquired by the Municipality of Athens, which undertook the renovation project. The theater had to be practically rebuild, staying true to Zenetos’s original design but also conforming to all contemporary European standards for safety.

The fully renovated theater will be inaugurated on September 15, 2023, with a music concert specially organized for its reopening, dedicated to the life work of iconic Greek composer Stavros Xarchakos, while more events have been scheduled in the days to follow, in a program curated by Technopolis City of Athens.

N.M. (Based on an original article in Griechenland Aktuell

Read also via Greek News Agenda: Takis Zenetos: The modernist architect who prophesied our digital lives; Rethinking Greece | Manolis Anastasakis: 200 years of architecture in Athens

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A supporter of radical modernism, Takis Ch. Zenetos is recognized as one of the leading figures of 20th century Greek architecture. An indefatigable researcher with an excellent knowledge of technology and an internationally renowned designer, Zenetos has designed visionary projects that meet the requirements of a world much more advanced than the Greece of the 1970s. Takis Zenetos was born in Athens in 1926. In 1945 he left to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, taking courses in the architecture studio of Otello Zavaroni. His life in post-war Paris, a city animated by avant-garde artistic and cultural currents, had a great impact on his work.

In 1952 he finished his studies at the École, and in 1953 he presented his diploma thesis on "Micropolis - Autonomous residential unit". He returned to Greece in 1955 and opened an architecture office in collaboration with Margaritis Apostolidis. The first years of his professional activity were particularly fruitful. His works were published in many European architectural magazines and Zenetos completed a total of 120 projects, among which is the spatial planning of the Attica Basin, many industrial buildings as well as important apartment buildings and private residencies.

His works include the renovation of the Fix Factory at Syggrou Avenue (now the seat of Greece's National Contemporary Art Museum, EMST), the residence in Glyfada, 21 Xanthou Street (1961), the apartment building on 17 Herodus Atticus Street (1959), the School of Agios Dimitrios (known as Stroghylo, 1972), the residence in Kavouri (1959) and the Lycabettus Theater (1964), all found in Athens and its surroundings. Zenetos also made architectural plans in other regions of Greece, notably for the Kyknos tomato factory in the Peloponnese (Savalia, 1963), and his unrealized projects for the Liakota hotel in Plakias (Crete). Zenetos' buildings reveal an environmentally friendly architecture that highlights the use of the most advanced technologies of his time.

His small works, private villas built in Attica, showcase the more personal elements of his architecture. In an age dominated by massive construction, Zenetos argued that the human dwelling should be the highest product of modern civilization and considered it necessary to remove the box cube of the modern house and integrate it into the environment. The work of Takis Zenetos was highly appreciated by a small circle of young architects, many of whom he significantly influenced. Among his great works of a theoretical type, we must retain his concept and research on "Electronic Urbanism” and its his urban plans for new settlements in coastal Greece.

Zenetos had envisioned the evolution of the city, not only in Greece but also in the entire West. He had foreseen the technological developments that would affect human life and activities, and in the following years he would try to formulate his own view of its ideal form and build buildings that would serve it. The quintessence of Takis Zenetos' urban planning and spatial planning philosophy is contained in his research, as formulated in his proposal for "Electronic Urbanism” (1952), i.e. in the integration of the most recent conquests of electronic science and technology into the daily life of man. 

The basic idea of Electronic Urbanism [which Zenetos designed, developed and investigated from 1952 to 1974] is the creation of a system with diverse levels and locations for different urban functions, primarily residential, suspended from natural environments [as cantilevers or mountains] and integrated with all sorts of communications technologies, that allow wide-ranging connections among people and social groups. The extensive use of tele-work, tele-management, tele-medicine and tele-education redefines this new human environment, geared towards free communication and creative occupation.

As Marianna Charitonidou explains in her article for journal 'urban science', Takis Zenetos’s “Electronic Urbanism” was based on the development of electronic applications in the realms of what was called “tele-management,” “tele-work” and “tele-services.” Zenetos started developing his ideas regarding autonomous living units designed for “Electronic Urbanism” in 1952, when he was still a student at the École de Beaux Arts in Paris. He presented aspects of the project —from large models including several buildings to prototypes of furniture— on several occasions, such as the Exhibition of the Modern Housing Organization in Athens in 1962, and at the first Construction Exhibition at the Zappeion in 1971.

Zenetos was convinced that “Electronic Urbanism” would help citizens save the time that they normally used to commute to work, and would allow them to spend this time on more creative activities, at or near their homes. He prophesied in a sense the idea of working from home, and believed that both architecture and urban planning should be reshaped in order to respond to this new concept. He supported the design of special public spaces in residential units, aiming to accommodate the inhabitants during working hours.

The co-existence of different parts of this urban grid with a road network that is temporarily suspended in the air corresponds to the period of the automobile boom. The grid acts as an envelope to the city, working in three phases; in the last phase we can see the complete reunification and recovery of natural areas, while all functions are placed upon a system of cables suspended in the air, something that reminds us of the Spatial City by Yona Friedman. Even if Zenetos didn’t have the opportunity to know if the ideas behind Electronic Urbanism would have worked or not, his approach to technologies focused on telecommunications, was really innovative for the time.

“Electronic Urbanism” not only constitutes an artistic contribution to experimental architecture, but is also characterized by a new social vision, promising to resynchronize practices of daily life. Placing an early emphasis on electronic technology, Zenetos is perhaps a unique case of an early representative of the digital generation of architects. Takis Ch. Zenetos died by suicide on June 29, 1977. After the recent interventions in two of his most important works in Athens (Fix Factory /EMST and Lycabettus Theatre) the importance of his contribution to modern Greek architecture comes to the fore again, inviting new interpretations.

Read more via Greek News Agenda:

Constantinos Doxiadis: The Greek visionary who built cities for the world

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 I.L.

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