Noose Mansion - Agia
2014
These Neoclassical houses and mansions stopped being built around WW2 yet many remain albeit most I see are in a poor state of repair being too expensive to maintain and renovate to modern living requirements. Thankfully in the tiny village of Aγια in Northern Greece many of them are still standing, some still lived in and some derelict but still retaining their beauty.
This one I was lucky enough to go inside, just a shame I wasn't prepared with a tripod, so had to shoot around 4000 ISO handheld in most rooms and remain as still as possible.
Inside was extensive decay but still enough original features to get a sense of what it may have looked like when a functioning home with each room painted in brilliant colours and still some pieces left inside since the house became abandoned.
There is a quirky tale to this house, relayed by some local children who said that there was a hangman's noose in the house at one point and any child who had been inside and seen it had been met with extreme misfortune afterwards, so none of the local children dared go back inside the house, suffice to say I didn't see this noose!
From the brilliant cobalt blue door leading into a long hallway, the majesty of this house is obvious. Spacious rooms no doubt adorned with beautiful furniture once upon a time now only retain memories of a former time. There want much of note in terms of personal items left behind except a few papers and bits and pieces in the kitchen. One pamphlet caught my eye, entitled 'The modern song' as it lay on the sun drenched window sill. A touch of personal history, a reminder of former lives.