CITY LIFE
The Coaster Ride Ahead Ri-vie-ra,
T
he word alone fills the mouth with longing and tantalizes body and mind with its associations of glamour, luxury, sea, sun, palm trees, casinos, yachts and a laidback lifestyle. Does it? Or might it just translate into past glory, overcrowded beaches, rampant commercialism, bad service, and cramped quarters?
Art historian Els Hanappe is all for progress but warns that sustainability and engagement with the local community are key to making the Athens coast a truly unique destination.
Strangely, the concept of the Athens Riviera has slipped into consciousness without much ado. The Riviera, a noun with Italian and, further in the past, Latin roots, initially referred to a stretch of coast in the south of France, down from Monaco into Liguria, Italy, or from the Côte d’Azur to the Riviera Ligure. Its mythical connotations started in the eighteenth century when wealthy Western Europeans escaped the chilly winters to seek refuge in the region’s mild climate. During the nineteenth century, members of the European royalty and nobility increasingly sought out health resorts and eventually settled down in opulent Belle Époque seaside villas and mansions. At the beginning of the twentieth century, they were joined by the new American rich and exiled Russian aristocracy, and by artists, writers, celebrities, and movie stars who bathed in the light and balmy weather. Wealthy patrons who contributed the funds mingled with bohemians who created the thrill, old money that provided the aristocratic flair and parvenus who supplied the gossip. A right mindset was all that was required. The winter season turned into a summer season and year-round visitors.
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