Alexandros Papadiamandis Museum Skiathos

Alexandros Papadiamandis was one of the most important and influential writers of the last century for all of Greece. He was born in Skiathos in 1851 into a large family with an Orthodox priest father and a mother descended from a noble family of Mistrà. With poor academic results, after completing his studies with a friend he moved to Mount Athos with the intention of becoming a monk but only after a few months he abandoned the idea as he was intolerant of solitude. He then enrolled in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Athens but was unable to graduate so he devoted himself to teaching by tutoring young people. Particularly good at foreign languages, he learned English and French perfectly by himself, thus becoming an appreciated translator and publishing in some periodicals of the time. All this brought out his talent which was immediately recognized making him highly coveted by the publishing world. He was the first to translate Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment into Greek. He was a very closed man, proud and with great dignity but unhappy, throughout his life he suffered poverty and his consolations were the stories he wrote when he was clouded by the fumes of alcohol. In 1910 I returned 'to his beloved island where he died' in 1911. The recognition of his abilities came 'with his novels that spoke of the hard daily life of the Skiathos island with stories of outcasts, alcoholics, losers and nonconformists. His best seller is The Assassin which tells of a peasant mother named Chadula who killed all the girls because as they grew up they would become burdens for families with the belief that they were doing the right thing and doing their parents a favor. A hard book, raw sometimes disturbing but which highlights the difficulty of life on a small island.

Much loved by the Skiathos inhabitants, the main street of the city is dedicated to him and his house has become a museum. It is located right in the center and is a destination that attracts tourists from all over the world. A modest small sized two storey building in classical Greek architecture with stone and tsatma (wood and plaster) walls and a four pitch roof with Byzantine style tiles. Inside there is on the left the living room with the fireplace and all the original furniture, on the right the father's study where he kept his books. The ground floor has now been transformed into an exhibition hall with photos, documents and manuscripts by the artist. In 1954 the state bought the Papadiamadis house giving it to the Skiathos municipality and in 1965 it became a cultural monument of Greek culture. In 1990 it was completely restored, leaving everything as it was originally. The Alexandros Papadiamandis skull is kept in the Panagia Limnia church. A visit that will fill you with emotion, which will make you understand a little the restless soul of this great writer of Greek literature Modena nicknamed "prose poet" for his great ability in writing.

Opening hours:

From April 1st to October 31st: 10.00 - 13.00 and 17.00 - 19.00

From 1 November to 31 March: 8.30 - 15.00