The 40 square miles that constitute Mykonos are prized for incredibly beautiful architecture, a surreal party atmosphere, and transcendent beaches beside the sparkling blue-green Aegean sea.
So it’s only fitting that French luxury publisher Assouline has included it in its beautifully-designed and highly coveted Travel Series, devoted to the world’s most desirable destinations from Tulum to Tuscany.
Mykonos Muse, by Greek photographer Lizy Manola, chronicles the culture and society that has defined Mykonos over the past century, “from its days as a hideout for such luminaries and elites” as Le Corbusier and Aristotle Onassis, to its never-boring club scene—“all the while indulging the reader with the ruins and myths hidden there.”
Manola writes that on Mykonos in the golden days, “everything was possible, and nothing was off-limits. The jet set felt at home, seduced by island’s pure beauty and carefree spirit—a bohemian hideaway where they could go wild, undetected by gossip columnists and paparazzi.”
And when in the 1960s photographers did start staking out the island, “Hollywood stars, fashion emperors, shipping tycoons, [and] gorgeous models disembarked [from their yachts] and smiled under the golden sun.”
The real stars of Mykonos, however, “were the Mykonians, these hard-working, sun-kissed, and openminded people who opened their island for the world to enjoy.”
Until you can charter that yacht yourself and set course for Mykonos, Mykonos Muse is the next best thing, and a fitting addition to any stylish library.