Culture
Spetses is famous for its beautiful traditional architecture consisting in a mixture of 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century architectural style, testifying about the cultural and economical development and wealth of the island during those years, when it used to be, along with the island of Hydra, one of the greatest marine and industrial powers of Greece.
Beautiful Venetian mansions with tiled roofs, wooden balconies and bright coloured walls stand next to superb neoclassical residences and 19th century two-storey houses with tiled roofs on which stone sculptures are standing, adorning it.
Those houses are usually painted in ochre or crème and have many large coloured windows. Almost all the traditional houses have a courtyard decorated with pebble mosaics, inlaid with local motives.
Those decorative beauties can be seen, if someone is lucky, when the garden’s gate of the houses is opened.
Another characteristic of the traditional Spetsiot architecture is the flat, unadorned façade of the buildings, with an arched ground floor patio holding the balcony of the second storey.
Some fine marble squares are scattered around the settlements, creating an interesting combination with the austere facades of the buildings.
Pebble-mosaic cobblestone streets surround the old mansions and houses, connecting gently the various architectural styles together.