Urban planning in Hermoupolis : a new view on the conservation and enhancement of historic settlements

Abstract EN

Thermopolis, capital city of the Cyclades, is a small but particularly important Greek City which was developed as a principal Greek urban center in the 19th century, as part of the country’s struggle for independence after 400 years of Ottoman Empire rule.

A thorough research on the city of Thermopolis determined with precision the content of terms such as “Historical city”, Historical Centre”, “Traditional settlement” ; it redefined the meaning of the terms “tradition, traditional”, and even the terms “urban, urbanism”, and clarified approaches to planning or other kinds of intervention in these contexts.

Nowadays, it is generally considered that the protection of a place’s architectural heritage mainly aims at the preservation and elevation of the place’s physiognomy.

This is arguably because, according to recent research on the physiognomy of cities, the various architectural and urban planning shells are a foundation for all the elements that constitute and present the physiognomy and character of a place.