“The Marble Sun” villa is a cave-house of two levels, which is next to the church “Anastasi”, in the area Monastiri of Oia Village, at the caldera side. “Anastasi” is one of the two famous and most photographed “Blue Domes” in Oia, Santorini.
It was build around 1900 and covers 120 square meters. Like all cave-houses in Santorini, «The Marble Sun» villa is a building without foundations, imposes with nothing interrupting the lines and colors of the caldera. It doesn’t have a wide façade and has the shape of a cross, having centered the door entrance and left and right the windows.
At the entrance of the villa you will be in a tiny yard, characteristic of the Cycladic Architecture, but enough space to have a relaxation area, a Jacuzzi with a view of the Aegean blue and of course the traditional oven that now has a decorative presence. The main gate, the entrance and the windows have the traditional decorative frame of the red limestone, known a “pori”. The main space consists of the living room, dining room and the kitchen. Deeper in the cave there is one bedroom with bathroom which is also a part of a cave.
An internal staircase leads us to the upper floor where the 2nd bedroom is located, with its own bathroom and this in the dome that is created from the extension of the cave. In this particular room, the arch of the cave, has been underlined with a metal construction with hidden lighting. The upper bedroom has a balcony with a lounge area and a small flower bed with plant that thrive in the area and unobstructed views of the caldera towards Thirasia island. The skylight over the door to the balcony has a carved marble sun, hence the name of the house.
For the overall interior of the cave and in order to emphasise the existing natural plasticity, it was chosen the use of a grey cement mortar, with a small tonic deviation. Natural materials such as linen, metal in grey color have been used in the decoration, with a generally abstract approach in order to star the amazing energy of the space.
The renovation began in November 2018 and has completed in May 2019. The architectural design and concept took over the office of Maria Chatzistavrou, Lime Deco as the owners of Caldera Houses had the oversight of the project.
