Alexandros Papadiamandis wasone of the most important and influential writers of the last centuryfor all of Greece. He was born in Skiathos in 1851 into a largefamily with an Orthodox priest father and a mother descended from anoble family of Mistrà. With poor academic results, after completinghis studies with a friend he moved to Mount Athos with the intentionof becoming a monk but only after a few months he abandoned the ideaas he was intolerant of solitude. He then enrolled in the Faculty ofLetters and Philosophy in Athens but was unable to graduate so hedevoted himself to teaching by tutoring young people. Particularlygood at foreign languages, he learned English and French perfectly byhimself, thus becoming an appreciated translator and publishing insome periodicals of the time. All this brought out his talent whichwas immediately recognized making him highly coveted by thepublishing world. He was the first to translate Dostoevsky's Crimeand Punishment into Greek. He was a very closed man, proud and withgreat dignity but unhappy, throughout his life he suffered povertyand his consolations were the stories he wrote when he was clouded bythe fumes of alcohol. In 1910 I returned 'to his beloved island wherehe died' in 1911. The recognition of his abilities came 'with hisnovels that spoke of the hard daily life of the Skiathos islandwith stories of outcasts, alcoholics, losers and nonconformists. Hisbest seller is The Assassin which tells of a peasant mother namedChadula who killed all the girls because as they grew up they wouldbecome burdens for families with the belief that they were doing theright thing and doing their parents a favor. A hard book, rawsometimes disturbing but which highlights the difficulty of life on asmall island.

Much loved by the Skiathos inhabitants, the main street of the city is dedicated to him and hishouse has become a museum. It is located right in the center and is adestination that attracts tourists from all over the world. A modestsmall sized two storey building in classical Greek architecture withstone and tsatma (wood and plaster) walls and a four pitch roof withByzantine style tiles. Inside there is on the left the living roomwith the fireplace and all the original furniture, on the right thefather's study where he kept his books. The ground floor has now beentransformed into an exhibition hall with photos, documents andmanuscripts by the artist. In 1954 the state bought the Papadiamadis house giving it to the Skiathos municipality and in 1965 itbecame a cultural monument of Greek culture. In 1990 it wascompletely restored, leaving everything as it was originally. The Alexandros Papadiamandis skull is kept in the PanagiaLimnia church. A visit that will fill you with emotion, which will make youunderstand a little the restless soul of this great writer of Greekliterature Modena nicknamed "prose poet" for his greatability in writing.

Opening hours:

From April 1st to October31st: 10.00 - 13.00 and 17.00 - 19.00

From 1 November to 31 March:8.30 - 15.00