Cycladic architecture is popular for its originality and beauty. The rapid development of tourism over current years has extended its credibility well beyond the borders of Greece. You might have the feeling that you are inside a captivating stage set when you check out a Cycladic town or village for the first time.
The early Cycladic builders operated in the very same basic yet daring design that differentiated the artists who developed Cycladic idols some 5,000 years back. With the genuine and untainted instinct of folk artists, these artisans built structures that were adapted not just to the daily needs of the residents, but likewise to the beauty and grace of the Cycladic landscape.
One hardly ever discovers public squares in Cycladic towns. Public spaces in settlements are, as a rule, quite little. The common location is normally the street, with its exceptionally well-balanced structure facades.
A row of narrow-facade houses will have roughly the same dimensions and the exact same style. The homes generally have 2 floors, with an outside staircase that enables different access to the upper floor from the street.
The outdoors staircase exists despite whether the house is used as a single-family residence or 2 separate households individually own the ground floor and upper storey.
It apparently began due to the fact that of the lack of area within the fortified settlements that were built in the latter part of the 14th century when the islands initially became settlements. The main factor for this is that it served the organization of the dowry, separate-storey ownership pleased other requirements as well, In Mykonos, for example, peasants who went to Hora (the Town) to offer their products and do their marketing desired storage areas and fundamental shelter.
The exteriors of Cycladic structures are unembellished and basic, whitewashed, with only a few windows and a specific type of roofing, which is available in 3 variations: vaulted, inclined, or pitched. For the most part, Cycladic homes resemble linked stark-white cubes.
Perched on cliff-sides, with an economy of space ensured by native resourcefulness, these two-storeyed or single houses mix with church exteriors, water fountains, windmills (where they exist) and dovecotes to compose photos seen nowhere else in the world.
Structures that form a compact mass, irregularly lined up houses, a financial use of curves, and walls that subtly slant out towards the ground to offer the impression that the structure is outgrowing the island's plain rocky ground, flagstone stairs rimmed in white to reduce their weight. When you include the painted doors (normally, the cobalt blue of the sea), balconies and windows, which contrast the plain white houses, you have the total image of Cycladic architecture.
But this is just the basic photo. Each island has its own unique attributes, determined by its history and topography, as well as by how the local products have been used.
The interior of the houses is also similar, with only small variations from island to island. The within area is divided into 2 unequal areas by a kind of platform, 1-2 meters high and as much as 3 meters wide, extending either the length or width of your house. This platform is called, alternately, "krevatos" (bed), "kraatos" or "couches" (couch) depending on the place. The furnishings, which are impressive for their aesthetic appeals refinement and usefulness, are in overall consistency with the design and architecture of the house. The interior design includes little cabinets, the "stamnos" (water container) stand, trunks to keep clothes, wardrobes, icon stands, wooden-carved chests, along with a variety of furnishings developed into the walls.
This is frequently combined with pebble-paved front lawns (particularly on Milos and Paros, along with other islands), which add particular grace to the constantly harmonious but otherwise plain buildings of Aegean island vernacular architecture.
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