Architecture

The architecture of Mykonos Greece is typically Cycladic, the Greek cliche which every one waits to see. The superb linear Cycladic architecture sees his spare lines represented at their best in the island of Mykonos.

The traditional and picturesque whitewashed cubic houses with flat roofs, wooden coloured doors and windows and flowered balconies and the multitude of paved narrow streets are particularly charming and magic in Mykonos. The birth of Cycladic architecture is explained by the rarity of construction materials and also by the fact that the houses had flat roofs and a cubic shape to resist against the strong winds.

Those especially in the capital, built according to the free will of the owners, without following any plan and giving the impression to walk in a glimmering white labyrinth full of bright colours and harmony despite the appearing disorganisation.

There were painted in white to cool the high temperatures of summer time. Houses were built one very close to another, only protected by small narrow streets as a protection from the wind, from the pirates; this also shows the strong communal spirit of the epoch.

The characteristic of the architecture in Mykonos, slightly different that in the other Cyclades, is that the houses, churches, chapels, and all the buildings in general, have all a smooth and asymmetrical shape on their corners, phenomenon which gives to the whole ensemble, a perfect harmony.