ARCHITECTURENEOCLASSICAL SPLENDOURNeoclassical Splendour
Regarded by experts as the most beautiful neoclassical building world-
wide, the 1885 Athens Academy refl ects Greece’s post-Independence
yearnings for grand and geometric forms, and Hellenistic detail. Re-
nowned Danish architect Theophile Hansen drew inspiration from
the Erechtheion to design the Academy’s Ionic-style column entrance
(guarded over by Apollo and Athena); the great interior oblong hall is
lined with marble seating, and Austrian painter Christian Griepenkerl
was commissioned to decorate its elaborate ceiling and wall paintings.
In a similar vein, the Doric columns of the Temple of Hephaestus infl u-
enced Theophile’s solid marble National Library, whileChristian Hansen
(Theophile’s brother) was responsible for the handsome but more sedate
Athens University, with its clean lines.
Meticulously restored neoclassical mansions house notable mu-
seums, such as the acclaimed Benaki Museum and the Ernst Ziller–built
Numismatic Museum, which contains beautiful frescoes and mosaic
fl oors.
Many provincial towns also display beautiful domestic adaptations
of neoclassicism. In Symi, the harbour at Gialos is fl anked by colourful
neoclassical facades (still striking even if a little derelict) and Nafplio is
also embellished with neoclassical buildings.
Modern Ideas
Athens today is embracing a sophisticated look-both-ways archi-
tectural aesthetic by showcasing its vast collection of antiquities and
archaeological heritage in evolutionary buildings (see Best Futuristic
Athens), and by beautifying landscapes for pedestrian zones to improve
the urban environment. Examples include the well-designed facelift of
the historic centre, including its spectacular fl oodlighting (designed
by the renowned Pierre Bideau) of the ancient promenade, and the
cutting-edge spaces emerging from once-drab and derelict industrial
zones, such as the Technopolis gasworks arts complex in Gazi.
TOP FIVE PROVINCIAL ORIGINALSPyrgi See the medieval, labyrinthine, vaulted island village of Pyrgi in Chios, for its
unique Genoese designs of intricate, geometric, grey-and-white facades.
Zagorohoria Gaze at the slate mansions of the Zagorohoria: schist-slab roofs, stone-
slab walls and fortifi ed courtyards.
Vathia Watch out for the lovely Vathia in Mani, for its startling meercat-esque stone
tower houses with round turrets as sentry posts.
Oia Squint at the volcanic rock–hewn cliff -top village of Oia in Santorini, with its daz-
zlingly whitewashed island streetscapes and homes.
Lefkada Town Discover the strangely attractive wooden-framed houses of Lefkada
Town; the lower fl oors are panelled in wood; the upper fl oors are lined in painted sheet
metal or corrugated iron.