Most people come to Skiathos for its beaches. But there is another Skiathos, quieter, that you find in books before you find it on the map: the Skiathos of Alexandros Papadiamantis.
"The saint of Greek letters"
Papadiamantis was born on Skiathos in 1851 and died there in 1911. He lived for years in Athens, but the world of his stories was always his island: the fishermen, the women who waited, the country chapels, the feasts, the poverty and the beauty of a place that was changing.
His style, mixing formal Greek with the language of the island, made him one of the most distinctive writers of modern Greek literature.
In his footsteps
- The Papadiamantis House, in Skiathos Town, is now a museum.
- The country chapels of the island, which appear again and again in his stories.
- The Kastro, in the north, where for centuries the islanders took refuge from pirates.
- The shores, as he describes them: not as scenery, but as places of life and labour.
Read before you go
Take a book of his stories with you; several are available in English translation. Skiathos reads differently when you know who walked its paths first.
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