Megaro Gyzi (or Gyzi Manor)

Megaro Gyzi: One of Santorini’s must-to-see museums

One of many Santorini attractions and museums that you may visit during your stay at Esperas Hotel is the Cultural Centre Megaro Gyzi (or Gyzi Manor) in Fira. It is a non-profit organization, founded in 1980 by the Catholic Diocese of Santorini. The main purpose of the Cultural Centre is the spiritual development, the cultural improvement of Santorini’s residents, but also of the whole Cycladic area in general. For that reason, the Cultural Center Megaro Gyzi organises various cultural events and installations such as painting, sculpture and photo exhibitions, musical events, theatrical plays, film showings and other events. Apart the various events that are organized you may also visit an exhibition of 6 permanent collections of old photos of Santorini from 1930 to 1956 by the internationally acclaimed photographer Vicentio Pintos, traditional local costumes of 16th to 19th century, original map engravings of the same period and selected documents of the Lay Files of the Catholic Diocese of Thira, paintings of Santorini by Vincentio and Pipitsa Pintos, a collection of paintings, with Santorini as the subject, donated by well-known Greek painters and an under development exhibition of Santorini Strata.

Whats makes really interesting the visit at Megaro Gyzi, is the building itself since it is a 17th-century old family mansion of exceptional architectural interest and beauty and it is one of the few remain old estates that survived the earthquakes of 1956. The Manor΄s front entrance decorates the Gyzi family crest. The Cyzi Manor is a structure of exceptional architectural interest and beauty, to which (following the 1956 earthquakes) only the basement remained, where the utility room of the old estate was. It is a unique building of its era in Santorini, since the ground floors develop around a patio, which attributes a distinctive architecture due to the inner open area created; this is partly covered with an elegant cross-shaped dome and partly uncovered.

Megaro Gyzi (or Gyzi Manor)

With the support and contribution from the Catholic Diocese of Santorini it has been carefully restored in a way that it retains much of its original character in an effort to preserve those distinct features of the local architectural heritage. The building was modified minimally to meet the functional demands of a Cultural Centre accommodating exhibition space and facilities for cultural events.

In order to visit Megaro Gyzi from Esperas Hotel in Oia, you will need about a 20 minutes drive by taxi or car or about a 40 minutes ride with the local bus

Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00 – 22:00, Sunday: 10:00 – 16:00, except from public holidays.

For additional information and photos, you may visit Megaro Gyzi’s website and Facebook Page

Telephone number: +30 2286023077

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