4, 25th August Martyrs Avenue – Florida Hotel

An outstanding example of the morphological principles of Eclecticism, this three-storey stone-built mansion is known today as the Florida Hotel. The architectural study was submitted to the Municipality of Heraklion on 10 May 1912 by Dimitriοs Kyriakòs.

At the time, the property belonged to the public authority overseeing waqf endowments (Evkaf) and constitutes a unique example of a building of this period in Heraklion: in shaping its façades, stylised elements of arabesque architecture were employed above the ground floor. The building was later converted to hotel use.

The façade is articulated into three horizontal zones. In the central zone, trilobed openings are formed on both the first and second floors. On the first floor the arches are semicircular, while on the second they are double curved, in accordance with arabesque models. The arched terminations of the openings in the lateral sections on both the first and second floors are formed in a similar manner. On the second floor, balconies are placed at the sides. The ground floor is articulated with simple morphological elements, without recourse to forms derived from arabesque architecture. Both the architectural composition and the distinctive character of the façade define a building that conveys a sense of grandeur and elegance.