Italian Architecture of the 1930s (Kos Town Area) |Discovering Kos and the surrounding islands

The Agricultural Bank of Greece Building

The island of Kos was taken over by the Italians in 1912, when they conquered the island that was in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. In 1928 the Italians came up with a master plan to expand the city beyond its walls but did not have the time to implement it fully. The earthquake of 1933 destroyed many of the traditional buildings in the city and a new urban plan was created. The Italians sought to revive the period of the Knights of St john as well as the Roman classical past. This is the main reason for the extensive excavation of the center of Kos Town which used to be a residential area, and the creation of an archaeological park. The new urban plan was undertaken by R. Petracco, special building codes were established and heavy taxing of the local population helped to create many of the buildings and structures you can admire to this day. The core of this development can be seen in the main square where the Museum building, the old fascist party Headquarters and the market are typical of the period's architecture. Other buildings are spread out across town: the police/administrative building at the entrance of the harbor, the Gelsomino hotel, the Public Power Corporation building, the Agricultural Bank Building, the Synagogue, the Orthodox Church of Aghios Nikolaos....