Marena and Foteini Manesis are both 27 years old, twin sisters born and raised in Skiathos. They grew up in a stone-built house that has stood in the very heart of the island’s main town since the early 20th century. A house abounding with family –yet, not only- heirlooms, which was turned into a museum four years ago and has since become one of the most interesting places one can visit on the island of the Northern Sporades.
Embroideries, objects, tools, heirlooms, manuscripts, costumes and photographs from five generations were collected. Things that tell a lot about the history of the family but not only; they also say a lot about the history of Skiathos and about life on a Greek island in earlier times. “There was always a tendency to keep and maintain in good condition old things in the family”, says Marena Manesis to Travel.gr. “This was less about passing on something to the descendants and more about showing respect to the ancestors”, she further explains. “However, those who are most commendable for preserving this whole legacy are our parents. It required a lot of effort and a lot of expense on their part to ensure proper preservation.”
“Skiathitiko Spiti” is a stone-built two-storey building boasting furniture from the 19th century, including an 1883 chandelier. Moreover, it features old bridal bedrooms and looms, oil jars (as the family use to have a private mill), documents and dowry covenants from the 19th century with embossed watermarks, photographs telling the family’s history during the last 150 years in Greece and Newport, US, where part of the family emigrated, and even an ancient amphora dating back to the 2nd century BC, found by members of the family in a shipwreck. “The amphora was always placed at the entrance. Ever since the days of my grandfather. The Ephorate of Antiquities of Magnesia told us that it comes from Rhodes.” The amphora is the first thing one sees in the house and perhaps the most valuable object, but for Marena it is not the one that stands out.
What stands out, according to her, is a lithograph of the second king of the Greek state George I and his wife Olga, and she explains why, recounting her grandmother’s stories.
“On 23 August 1944, the Germans bombed and loomed Skiathos in retaliation for the kidnapping of one of their officers by the rebels. They also came into our house with the intention of looting and burning it to the ground. But, upon seeing the king’s picture in the hall, they came round, showing respect to King George’s German ancestry on his mother side. They saluted militarily and left without causing any damage. Thus, the house survived thanks to this lithography. What’s more, they left an 1933 Ikonda camera here, which was used by my grandfather while he was working as a minesweeper on the island after the war, in 1946, and today is on display in the museum.”
It is important to say that the women of the family were somehow responsible for the preservation of the heirlooms and the history of the family. “Men were mainly involved in seafaring, hence they were not on the island for long periods of time”, says Marena. “All of the information we have about the objects and all the family stories come mostly from women’s accounts, either written or oral, passed down from generation to generation”.
Marena is an architect, while her twin sister Foteini is a kindergarten teacher. Both have taken museology courses and have tried to incorporate this knowledge to the museum “Skiathitiko Spiti”. “I think that it is something worth seeing and we try to make sure that the tour takes visitors on a journey through the life of the island and the history of our family, rather just being a mere exhibition of artefacts. Our goal is for the tour to be tailored to interests of each visitor”.
“Skiathitiko Spiti” recently became more widely known through publications and the two sisters have been receiving phone calls from all over Greece. “People who also have an old house and heirlooms in good condition and would like to do something similar call to ask for our advice or for a visit. I am really glad there is so much interest”, says Marena and concludes, “I do not view this house as a business. It’s part of my family and personal history”.
During winter, the house remains closed for maintenance, but can be visited upon request.
Visit their website skiathitikospiti.gr/
