KEA TRAVEL GUIDE

KEA (TZIA) > ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE

The land of the Cyclades islands hides a surprise for each traveller: the rural Cycladic architecture, the originality and charm which have given the Cyclades fame beyond the borders of Greece. All the buildings are ingeniously, thoughtfully adapted to the daily requirements of its residents and contribute to the frugal beauty of the Cycladic landscape. The economic use of building materials, limited internal space, the resourcefulness that was necessary for survival under the harsh conditions, result in our admiration today. The adaptation of buildings to the surface level variations that avoided large excavations, as well as the exploitation of the more favourable orientation for their protection from the winds of Aegean and the cold, unites the architecture with the place and it becomes one with nature.

A visitor walking in a traditional settlement of the Cyclades has the impression that he is in a labyrinth and is surrounded by a fascinating setting of cinematographic film. Countless labyrinths of narrow paved alleys and the whitewashed facades of the erratically built houses and churches dazzle under the Aegean light. Their small dimensions with architectural harmony and small volume compose pictures that are unique in the world.

The Cycladic houses are one or two storeyed with a stone exterior staircase, frugally built without decoration and few openings, in an enchanting chromatic opposition of white with bright colours on doors, windows and balconies usually the deep blue of the sea. The roof is level or vaulted.

The interior of a typical Cycladic house is usually separated into two unequal sections. Furniture ties in with the architecture of the house, even inset in the walls, cabinets, chests, iconostases, carved wooden trunks compose the unique image of the aesthetic whole.

The main characteristics of Cycladic settlements are the stone, usually whitewashed, windmills that testify silently to the labours of its residents in the eras of the past.