SKIATHOS - Alexandros Papadiamantis house:

Alexandros Papadiamantis, the famous scholar, prose writer, novelist, was born on Skiathos. Through his works he belauded life, customs and traditions of the residents of Skiathos .

The house where he was born on 4 March 1851 in the town of Skiathos does not exist any more, as it was demolished by its buyers. The new house, an old manor house made from stone and wood, where Papadiamantis grew up and died, was built in 1860 by his father, as an inscription on the wall mentions, and it is a classic example of island architecture.

The initial planning of the house has been retained to date and it operates as a museum. Unique Skiathan relics are on display, together with many of the personal items of the great Skiathan prose writer, such as his ink bottle, his coffer and his bed.

The house is very close to the port, about 100 m from the eastern beach of the town and on a narrow dead-end street.The old western entrance is closed. An external wooden staircase on the eastern side leads the visitors inside the house, which has two floors, upstairs and downstairs.

Upstairs, a long and narrow entrance leads to three rooms. In the one on the left, with the fireplace, Papadiamantis spent the last months of his life. Above the fireplace, two small shelves still bear the mugs and cups of the island.

The small room on the right was where Papadiamantis father, Pater Adamantios, kept his canonicals and his books.There is only a window, a bed and a small locker embedded into the wall, and it seems more like a monks cell. Papadiamantis himself later used it as an office and a bedroom.

Exactly opposite the entrance is the living room of the house with coloured diamonds on the ceiling. Downstairs is open-plan with a well in the middle. Today, it is an exhibition area and a library with the most important works of the Skiathian prose writer.