Panagia Paraportiani Church

Paraportiani is one of the most photographed buildings in the Greek islands, and standing in front of it you understand why quickly. Completed in the seventeenth century, it is actually a complex of five separate chapels joined into a single organic mass, sitting at the edge of the Kastro quarter in Mykonos Town. Four chapels occupy ground level; the main chapel of the Virgin Mary sits on top.

There is no elaborate ornamentation on the exterior. The whole effect comes from the pure whitewashed surfaces and the way the irregular volumes cast shadows against each other as the light moves through the day. You walk around the building, take photographs from different angles, and notice how the forms shift depending on where you stand.

The interior is generally closed to visitors, but the exterior grounds are open at all times with no ticket required. If you want to use the church for a wedding, a key keeper in a nearby village needs to be coordinated in advance. The site fits naturally into a walk through Mykonos Town and works as an easy add-on alongside the Little Venice waterfront.