Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE IN THE DODECANESE
The architectural heritage left by the Italian domination in the Dodecanese has only recently
begun to be appreciated. Many structures had been allowed to deteriorate, if not abandoned,
by Greeks who would rather forget the entire Italian legacy.
Although the buildings are often dubbed “Art Deco”, and some contain elements of that
style, most are properly classed as
Rationalist
(or in the case of Léros,
Stream Line Modern
).
They drew on various post-World War I architectural, artistic and political trends across Europe,
particularly Novecento (a sort of Neoclassicism), the collectivist ideologies of the time, and the
paintings of Giorgio di Chirico. The school's purest expressions tended to have grid-arrays of
windows (or walls entirely of glass); tall, narrow ground-level arcades; rounded-off bulwarks;
and either a uniform brick surface or grooved/patterned concrete. As well as in Italy and
Greece, examples can still be found as far afield as Moscow or London (underground stations
and blocks of flats), Los Angeles (apartment buildings) and Ethiopia (cinemas).
Italy initially attempted to create a hybrid of Rationalist style and local vernacular
elements in the Dodecanese, both real and semi-mythical, to evoke a supposed generic
“Mediterranean-ness”. Every Italian-claimed island had at least one specimen in this
“
protectorate
” style, usually the gendarme station, post o
ce, covered market or
governor's mansion, but only on the most populous or strategic islands were plans drawn
up for sweeping urban re-ordering.
The years from 1936 to 1941 saw an intensified Fascist imperial ideology, an increased
reference to the heritage of the Romans and their purported successors the Knights, and the
replacement of the “protectorate” style with that of the “
conqueror
”. This involved
“
“purification”,
”, the stripping of many public buildings in Rhodes (though not, curiously, in Kos)
of their orientalist ornamentation, its replacement with a cladding of porous stone to match
medieval buildings in the old town, plus a monumental severity - blending Neoclassicism and
modernism - and rigid symmetry to match institutional buildings (especially Fascist Party
headquarters) and public squares across Italy.
8
tunnels are crammed with barely labelled World War II documents, models, machine
guns and assorted military hardware. To make sense of it all, head first to the far end
and watch the archival footage.
Xirókambos
The fishing port of
XIRÓKAMBOS
, 5km south of Lakkí, is served by regular
kaïki
from
Myrtiés on Kálymnos. It's a pretty spot, and many visitors swim, but the beach itself is
unremarkable, improving as you head west.
In the hillside village of
LEPÍDHA
, 1km short of Xirókambos, a side turning north of
the island's campsite leads up to a tiny
acropolis
. Behind the modern summit chapel,
you can admire stretches of restored ancient masonry, while the views across to
Kálymnos are superb.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
XIRÓKAMBOS
Hotel Efstathia
Xirókambos
T
22470 24099,
W
hotel
-efstathia.gr.
Studio apartments set 50m back from the
beach. Huge, well-furnished doubles (with rather basic
bathr
oom
s) as well as family four-plexes facing a large
pool.
€60
To Aloni
Xirókambos
T
22470 26048.
Xirókambos's best
waterfront taverna, right of where the road meets the sea.
Enjoy
mayireftá
, souvlakí and barbecued meats as well as
fish, at beachside tables shaded by jacarandas.
Daily
11am-9pm.
Plátanos, Pandélli and around
Five kilometres north of Lakkí, across the island, a continuous built-up strip climbing
across a low ridge to connect two east-coast bays nominally consists of three distinct
villages. On the shore of the northern bay,
Ayía Marína
stretches along a quayside used
