The hallmark of the residential identity of Lesvos is indisputably the exquisite mansions that adorn it, examples of the economic strength of the past.
Most of them were built at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century by wealthy urban merchants, who, taking advantage of the island’s key commercial position between East and West, accumulated considerable wealth from their economic activities.
They combine elements of classical Greek architecture with many Western European architectural elements. They consist of attics, marble decorations, sachnisia and glazing, amazing gardens, marble staircases, painted ceilings, frescoes and cobblestones. You will see impressive mansions both in the city, in the area of Sourada, Kioski, Varia, and in the villages of the island, in Molyvos, Plomari, Polichnitos, the villages of Gera, Agia Paraskevi, etc.
