The mansion “Antico Veneziano” has a long history spanning 800 years. Its treasures were discovered when its cellars were opened for the first time in 1996.
A section of the castle in Chora, Naxos, on the south side, has been converted into a residence. It was first inhabited in 1207, when the conqueror Marco Sanudo built the castle.
The coats of arms and inscriptions found in various parts of the house show that the families who lived here were among the island’s notables.
It came into the ownership of the Delaroka family, the present owner’s, 30 years ago. Everyone’s dream was that the cellars of the castle house would one day be opened.
That dream came true 8 years ago. The cellars, which had stayed closed for 800 years, were opened in 1996, and an extraordinary treasure was revealed: four archaic columns that predate the castle, fragments of the ancient acropolis on which the conqueror built it.
The cellars have been preserved exactly as they were found. The castle’s servants lived here and cooked here (hence the work benches and the kitchens), did the washing here (hence the corresponding spaces), and communicated with the house above by internal staircases, just as is done today.
The present owners, Nikos and Elena Delaroka, with complete respect for the place and a deep love for the land and its history, have safeguarded the collections and all the precious items that Giannis and Eirinoula Delaroka-Fragopoulou had discovered on the site and protected with great care and affection.
Of great interest is the photography exhibition drawn from Giannis Delaroka’s photographic archive, with pictures of Naxos from a century ago.
Upstairs in the house, the old furniture bears witness to the French influence the island received from the first private school to open in Greece, the French School of the Ursulines. Here too, in the family’s private quarters, the surrounding atmosphere is a continuation of the space below, where the tradition and history of the place are an integral part of the whole.
In the video we have prepared for you, the owner, Mrs Eleni Delaroka, presents this historic mansion, which we wholeheartedly recommend you visit if you find yourself on the island of Naxos.
