Home of Angeliki Hatzimichali
Today the Municipal Museum of Folk Culture

6 Angelikis Hatzimichali (formerly 18 Yperidou St), Plaka, 1924-1927

Architect
Aristotelis Zachos (1871-1939)



The residence of the prominent folklorist Angeliki Hatzimichali - a work by the pioneering herald of Greekness, Aristotelis Zachos - is a typical expression of "demoticist" architecture.
The building is three storeys high; the main residence is two storeys and there is an independent apartment on the ground floor. The façades are characterised by functionality and spaciousness. The modern layout is an inventive combination of traditional motifs and memories. The ground floor is dominated by a large main hall – a modern version of the doxato (reception hall) in northern Greek mansions – and the dining room with the fireplace and carved woodwork.
The faces of the building are treated with mild plasticity and incorporate features inspired by the traditional architecture of Northern Greece and the Byzantine heritage: large wooden front doors, three-light windows with clerestories, wooden verandas, a covered colonnaded balcony. The garden is surrounded by a high stone wall.
All the hand-made decoration and furnishings in the home were selected by its owner. They were designed on the basis of traditional models and included authentic pieces from Hatzimichali’s collection of works of folk art from many regions of Greece.
This home expresses both the interests of its owner, who was in the front ranks of the effort to preserve and revive folk art, and the beliefs of its architect, a leading figure in the movement demanding modern architecture with an authentic Greek character.

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