At the turn of the 19th century, when Athens had about 6,500 inhabitants, the population of Hydra, then an important centre of maritime trade, may have exceeded 30,000. Its sudden 17th- and 18th-century prosperity produced an extraordinary architectural flowering, endowing it with one of the most strikingly beautiful ports in the Aegean.
Chapter from Blue Guide Greece the Aegean Islands: what to see, where to stay and eat, history, archaeology, art, culture, leisure. With superb, award-winning maps. Written and edited by a team of three experts: historian, art historian and archaeologist, two of whom lead cultural tours in Greece. "Blue Guides still hold the cultural high ground" Sunday Times.
