Alexandros Papadiamantis, an influential Greek author, was born in 1851 and lived most part of his life in Skiathos. His house is located in Skiathos town and was built around 1850 by his father. Papadiamantis family was very poor and had 9 children, 2 of them had died at birth and the author was the fourth child in the row. His father was a priest and constructed their house on his own, making it very simple with scattered furniture. The Greek Ministry of Culture bought this house 40 years after Papadiamantis death in 1954. It was then declared as a preserved monument under the authority of the Municipality of Skiathos.
Nowdays, the house operates as a folklore museum devoted to Papadiamantis. The museum is very close to the old port and luxury Skiathos hotels. It is situated in a pleasant and quiet small square. It presents his life habits and part of his work. It is a two storey house typical of the Sporadian architecture. The ground floor was the family’s storage area and has now been converted to an exhibition floor with a collection of his pen, the inkwell and many original manuscripts. The upper floor consists of three small rooms, which have the family’s furniture. Every object is authentic and representative of Greek life in the mid of 19th century.
Papadiamantis life was very spiritual. He had never showed any interest in material goods and personal property. Thus his legacy is his masterpieces of contemporary Greek literature. His novels reflect his free spirit, his strong religious beliefs and the love of his island, Skiathos. The winter of 1911 he died at his favorite home in Skiathos, due to his poor health and pneumonia.
