SERIFOS TRAVEL GUIDE

SERIFOS > ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE

Serifos is a significant representative of the traditional Cycladic architecture. Cubical houses, flat roofs, colourful wooden windows, narrow paved alleys with white seams, small courtyards, little churches with sky-blue or white domes, all gathered on hillsides or along the seaside, compose the image of the island's architecture.

A gem of Serifos is its capital, Chora, considered a characteristic medieval castellated settlement, built amphitheatrically on the rocky rise of Livadi bay to be protected from the pirate raids that occurred often during antiquity. Two Lodges (entrances) remain from this medieval settlement to the present day, one of which bears a blazon from the time of the Venice Domination. At the highest point of Chora stands the Kastro with remains of the Venetian castle built in 1434 by the Mikelis family. On the highest point of the rock, the church of Agios Konstantinos and of Agios Yiannis Theologos is located, built in the cavity of a rock and, according to tradition, on the remains of the ancient temple of Athena.

A line of windmills existed at the entrance of Chora. However, only two are preserved and restored today, while visitors can see the ruins of the others. In its interior, Chora hides neighbourhoods with narrow-fronted two or three storey houses connected by a maze of little alleys. Numerous churches are scattered in the settlement. Chora is divided into two districts, Pano Chora and Kato Chora, while public areas are very limited due to the crowded building plan. The Piatsa of Pano Chora (Town Hall Square) is one of these public areas and it was created after Chora's expansion beyond the narrow limits of the Venetian castle on the hilltop. The town hall is housed in a neoclassical building.

In the southwest side of the island, in the surrounding region of Koutalas and Megalo Livadi, there are remains from the period of the mines’ exploitation (1880 – 1963): steel loading ladders, bridges and small stone-built houses, where the mine workers lived in crammed conditions. In particular, the settlement of Megalo Livadi met significant growth during the period of the mines’ operation, as there were schools, a chemical laboratory, bakeries, tailor shops, shoemakers - some of these buildings have been preserved - as well as the two- storey neoclassical building of the Chiller School, which housed the mining company’s headquarters.

In various parts of Serifos, apart from the settlements, there are also isolated buildings made of the local stone and relating to the inhabitants’ main occupations. These are called “katikies” and comprise domestic as well as storage areas. Farmers live here for as long as it is necessary to finish their work in the fields. The boundaries of the fields were determined by the traditional dry walls made of Serifos stone.

Other isolated buildings are the “krasokelia” (wine cellars) intended for the processing of grapes and the storage of wine and found near vineyards, the “kleftokelia”, which were built in remote gorges and generally in inaccessible locations for protection from pirate raids. There are also dovecotes for pigeon breeding.