The Villas

The villas


Villa Fernandez" (Casa Bianca)
(At the corner of Vassillissis Olgas and Th. Sofouli Str.) Built in 1910 by the Italian architect Pierro Arigoni as a residence of the Jewish businessman Dino Fernandez, it has since been associated with the romantic involvement of his daughter Aline with Lieutenant Aliberti.


Villa Allatini
(198 Vassillissis Olgas Str.)
A work by the Italian architect Vitaliano Pozelli. It was built in 1888 as the summer residence of the Allatini family, a family famous for both its business and community activities. 
Between 1909 and 1912 it was used as the prison-residence of Abdul Hammid II, who was overturned by the Young Turks. In 1926 it hosted the newly founded University of Thessaloniki while during the 1940-41 War it was used as a hospital. Today, Villa Allatini houses the Prefecture of Thessaloniki. 
Other monumental buildings that belonged to the Allatini family and are still in use today are the mills on Antheon Str. and their Bank on Stock Market Square.


Villa Mordoch
(162, Vas. Olgas Str.)
Built by the Greek architect Xenophon Paeonides in 1905 as a residence of the Turkish Division Commander Saifulah Pasha. In 1923 it was bought by the Jewish family Schialom and in 1930 by another Jewish family, the Mordochs. After World War II it housed successively the services of ELAS, the 3rd Army Corps headquarters, and the Social Security Institution of the City of Thessaloniki. Today it is used by the Municipality of Thessaloniki as an Exhibition Hall for paintings.


Villa Modiano
(68, Vas. Olgas Str.)
It was built in 1906 as the residence of Jacob Modiano by the engineer Eli Modiano. In 1913 the villa was bought by the City of Thessaloniki and offered as a palace to King Constantine. It was used in the inter-war period as the residence of the Governor General of Macedonia, and it later housed the Military School of Medicine. Since 1970 it has been housing the Macedonian Popular Art Museum.




The visitor interested in the sites associated with the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki can also visit the picturesque Modiano Market, the "Saul Modiano Arcade", the Hippocrates Hospital, built in 1907 by the Jewish Community with the financial support of Baroness Clara de Hirsch, and finally "Yenni Djami" built in 1902 by the "Donmehs" (Jews who had converted to Islam in the 17th century) and used later as Thessaloniki's Archaeological Museum. Since the completion of the new Archaeological Museum, Yenni Djami has been used for painting and sculptures exhibitions.


"Matanoth Laevionim"
Since 1979 the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki has been operating a six-year primary school and nursery attended by about 80 children. The school is housed in the traditional building of the charity organization "Matanoth Laevionim" where until the Holocaust free meals were served to poor students. In addition to the National Curriculum, Hebrew, English and French are taught, as well as Jewish Religion and History. The nursery admits children from the age of three and a half.


MODIANO MARKET
Its construction started in 1922 and finished in 1930 by architect Eli Modiano. Eli came from a renowned Jewish (Sephardic) family of Thessaloniki, and studied architecture in Paris. The building resembles some Parisian markets. The market hosts produce, cheese, meat and fish shops, mainly at its street-side areas. Inside, there are both traditional and new tavernas, restaurants and bars. It is located between Vasileos Irakliou St and Egnatia Avenue, with exits to Ermou St and Vasileos Irakliou Street.