Paraphrasing architect Alexandros Tombazis, “in Aegean architecture, it is completely unclear where architecture ends and sculpture begins, and -with the whitewashing of the walls and the streets- where sculpture ends and painting begins”.

The sun, the sea, and the wind constitute the characteristic natural elements of an island, and of the Cycladic landscape in particular. The local and landscape elements have influenced the architecture and formation of the settlements, creating the respective imagery and composing their identity. The buildings, their construction materials, their environmental behaviour, and their location within the traditional settlements and the countryside of the Aegean have a lot to teach us about the habits and way of life of local inhabitants throughout history.

The forms of the buildings were dependent on the needs of the people; paraphrasing architect Dimitris Pikionis, this becomes evident in “every stone of folklore architecture […] as nature forced the common man to find the fundamental, necessary element in his physical and spiritual life. That is why art, as well as its expression, is genuine”.