Mythical homes in the land of the gods
Barbara and René Stoeltie bring you yet another excursion to the best of the worlds country homes - this time to the mythical land of Greece.
Go island hopping with the Stoelties and discover the best of Greeces hidden treats, such as the hilltop vacation house of Robert Browning, descendent of the English poet, in Hydra, a stunning 18th century Turkish-Greek palace - the former residence of a Turkish governor, now inhabited by a farmer and his family - on the Argo-Saronic Islands, and the cozy, romantic home of Onassiss ex-pilot Basile Touloumtzoglou and his wife, Tilly.
The magic of Greeces old-world charm drips from the pages of this book, which features 22 homes throughout the country.
-from BarnesandNoble.com website
The Most Beautiful Villages of Greece (Most Beautiful Villages)
by Mark Ottaway, Hugh Palmer
From the terra cotta and ocher of the Ionian Islands to the brilliant blue and white of the Aegean, the beautiful villages of Greece and its islands are incomparable. The variety of village life and building springs from a multitude of histories and influences, yet these towns are all, in their separate ways, quintessentially Greek. Here, then, are the loveliest villages created by the indomitable Greek spirit, all set in a landscape of overwhelming magnificence. We begin with the mountains of the mainland and areas such as the Pelion peninsula, where stone walls and wood-framed balconies betray a Turkish influence. In the southern Peloponnese are the Maniot villages and their characteristic tower houses, built by warring families the better to pursue their vendettas. From north to south through the mainland and the Peloponnese, from west to east through the islands, the mixture of intimacy and grandeur continues. The Ionian Islands are home to belfried churches, pitched tile roofs, porticoes, and colonnades, reflecting years of Venetian rule. The flat-roofed white houses of the Cyclades, startling against the blue Aegean sea, seem to express the very essence of Greece. Other villages mirror an international trading and shipping tradition, such as Chios whose substantial country mansions were left by the Genoese. And there are many other gems as well, with ancient temples, sandy bays, and cobbled paths. Complete with appendices of useful information for the traveler, this book is a celebration of the inimitable beauty and spirit that have entranced visitors to Greece through the ages.
-from Amazon.com website
Mediterranean Color: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Greece
by Jeffrey Becom, Paul Goldberger
For Mediterranean villagers, dressing their dwellings in bold colors is a way of expressing individuality and pride in a world otherwise ruled by nature and the Church. Becom made their flamboyant architecture the focus of his photographic lens from 1978 to 1988, and the resulting images are here complemented by lively anecdotes. Becom tells of visiting a Venetian fisherman whose cottage he'd photographed five years earlier and finding it painted different hues. As Becom watches, the owner again changes its appearance from lobster-red and yolk-yellow to vermillion and shocking pink. Then there's the tradition of Camogli wives, who coat their narrow, cliffside houses with striking shades so each husband can recognize his home from the sea. Becom's graceful text is as satisfying to the mind as his photographs are to the eye, examining why these peasant traditions arose and why, in most cases, they are dying out.
- Lisa Mullenneaux, Iowa City
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-from Amazon.com website
With its poignant and indelible images of Greece and its people, this is one of the all-time classic photo collections, and among the most memorable portraits of the country ever presented. In the early 1960s, Constantine Manos spent three years living in Greece and working as a photographer under the auspices of the prestigious agency Magnum Photos. A Greek Portfolio represents an impromptu pictorial account of Manos's travels through rural Greece and the Greek islands. The strength of these black-and-white duotone images, taken in small country villages and on secluded farms, lies in their portrayal of a way of life that had remained virtually unchanged for centuries before finally being overtaken by the modern world--a way of life that may strike viewers as at once humble and exalted in its quiet dignity and beauty. A Greek Portfolio was first published in 1972; the limited first edition has since become a much sought-after collector's item. Upon publication, the work received awards at Arles and at the Leipzig Book Fair. This new edition has been enhanced through the addition of eight previously unpublished images and a new foreword. A traveling exhibition of prints in this country will coincide with the publication of the new edition. There will also be a major exhibition at the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece. Images from this work are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
-from Amazon.com website
