41-24FA053 Enetia Mykonos ©
Copyright PS
Aegean, Cyclades, Mykonos.
The Aegean forms a branch of the Mediterranean mother sea. It's studded with these islands that bear a rich history of developing civilisation and art celebrating the continuity of humankind. In ancient times their beauty was deified, and many towns and temples were built. People's lives were tied closely to the sea and in economic relationship to the island environment.
Nature was a paramount determinant in daily life and this reflects in the architecture. Sun, wind, and limestone or volcanic ground were key influences. Seasonal wind from the north, the meltemi, blows cold and gusty. In the villages, with their contorting alleys, flat-roof cubic forms, limited window openings, and universal whitewash, we can readily see the adaptation to climate. This explains similarities between such complexes throughout island Greece, whereas exact details are special to each locality.
Aegean architecture is a shared art showing originality and invention. A sensitivity to context and neighbourliness is always there; communities are visually sharply defined and of limited, comprehensible size. Further, we find great integrity, sculptural skill, and humanity. Often a varied unit repetition occurs, without monotony, allowing for growth while closely related to topography. Growth followed time-honoured custom. These settlements remain built expressions of a heritage transmitted from one generation to the next.
In the southern Aegean lie the Cyclades. These islands are so called because they were perceived to encircle Delos, birthplace of mythical Apollo. Kyklos in Greek means circle.
Cycladic architecture took shape with details special to each place but typically as white clustering. All is compact and unified, having consistent scale. It's built up with simple form elements -- the cylinder and cube, barrel and spherical vaulting. These combine in a chunky and flowing continuity, often with enchanting paradoxes. Whitewashed thick masonry cools the interiors in hot weather. The incandescence, the play with sunlight, and the geometry, recharge our sensory responses to the qualities of light. However, the immaculate brilliance of now-popular places is a relatively recent phenomenon -- inhabitants would not have set out to attract pirates in the Middle Ages.
Renowned, commercialised, and not for the tourist season, captivating Mykonos (above) has a richness of spaces and forms. This island was always exposed to the sun, sea, and wind -- primal generators for life and architecture. The intensely visual main town is the archetypal Cycladic image. From sun-drenched granitic landscape the luminescent built concentration converges on the port, an active trading harbour open to that vital ocean. Typically, other island capitals were raised at a defensible distance from the sea and its piracy, yet the water's-edge town of Mykonos shows little fortification.
On the edge of the oldest part of the town lies "Little Venice" (Enetia), so-called because its upper-floor balconies overhang the splashing sea. This visual delight shows in my photo above. The grander examples were captains' houses and have access doors onto the water.
Enlarge
Click the diagonal arrows upper-right; then press F11 Fullscreen.
.
41-24FA053 Enetia Mykonos ©
Copyright PS
Aegean, Cyclades, Mykonos.
The Aegean forms a branch of the Mediterranean mother sea. It's studded with these islands that bear a rich history of developing civilisation and art celebrating the continuity of humankind. In ancient times their beauty was deified, and many towns and temples were built. People's lives were tied closely to the sea and in economic relationship to the island environment.
Nature was a paramount determinant in daily life and this reflects in the architecture. Sun, wind, and limestone or volcanic ground were key influences. Seasonal wind from the north, the meltemi, blows cold and gusty. In the villages, with their contorting alleys, flat-roof cubic forms, limited window openings, and universal whitewash, we can readily see the adaptation to climate. This explains similarities between such complexes throughout island Greece, whereas exact details are special to each locality.
Aegean architecture is a shared art showing originality and invention. A sensitivity to context and neighbourliness is always there; communities are visually sharply defined and of limited, comprehensible size. Further, we find great integrity, sculptural skill, and humanity. Often a varied unit repetition occurs, without monotony, allowing for growth while closely related to topography. Growth followed time-honoured custom. These settlements remain built expressions of a heritage transmitted from one generation to the next.
In the southern Aegean lie the Cyclades. These islands are so called because they were perceived to encircle Delos, birthplace of mythical Apollo. Kyklos in Greek means circle.
Cycladic architecture took shape with details special to each place but typically as white clustering. All is compact and unified, having consistent scale. It's built up with simple form elements -- the cylinder and cube, barrel and spherical vaulting. These combine in a chunky and flowing continuity, often with enchanting paradoxes. Whitewashed thick masonry cools the interiors in hot weather. The incandescence, the play with sunlight, and the geometry, recharge our sensory responses to the qualities of light. However, the immaculate brilliance of now-popular places is a relatively recent phenomenon -- inhabitants would not have set out to attract pirates in the Middle Ages.
Renowned, commercialised, and not for the tourist season, captivating Mykonos (above) has a richness of spaces and forms. This island was always exposed to the sun, sea, and wind -- primal generators for life and architecture. The intensely visual main town is the archetypal Cycladic image. From sun-drenched granitic landscape the luminescent built concentration converges on the port, an active trading harbour open to that vital ocean. Typically, other island capitals were raised at a defensible distance from the sea and its piracy, yet the water's-edge town of Mykonos shows little fortification.
On the edge of the oldest part of the town lies "Little Venice" (Enetia), so-called because its upper-floor balconies overhang the splashing sea. This visual delight shows in my photo above. The grander examples were captains' houses and have access doors onto the water.
Enlarge
Click the diagonal arrows upper-right; then press F11 Fullscreen.
.