In the early 1950s, Hydra, like all of Greece, was barely surviving. Abandonment and poverty were evident. The settlement and its inhabitants exuded a sense of lost glory and Hydra is being driven, slowly but surely, to the brink of economic withering.
The temporary “driving” force of Hydra, sponging, was found over time in complete decline mainly due to the limitation of the financial support of sponging businesses by the Agricultural Bank of Greece, so new caravans of Hydraians leave Hydra, which is in full population weakening.
The 1950s would change all that.
Gradually, Hydra will create a peculiar, charming microcosm of cosmopolitan artists, intellectual writers and film producers, who “discover” Hydra and use it lavishly in their films. A direct consequence of all this is the rapid tourist and economic activity on the island, which has since developed into a cosmopolitan tourist resort.
In the 1950s, the film “The Child and the Dolphin” with Sophia Loren was filmed here, and Hydra began to become known internationally.
Among the most famous films shot in Hydra are the famous “Girl in Black” by Michalis Kakogiannis with Elli Lampeti, which received rave reviews at the European festivals where it was screened, and Jules Dassin’s great film “Phaedra” with the wonderful Melina Mercury and the famous Anthony Perkins and Ralph Vallone.
But the beauties of Hydra, unchanged over time and characteristic, are immediately recognizable. The bell tower of the Monastery of Panagia, the bust of Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis, the cannons to the left and right of the harbor waterfront, the breakwater with many boats, the stone paddocks, the abandoned old stone warehouses of the port, the imposing mansions, the old building of Historical Archive of Hydra, the “Neraida”, the symbol ship of the time, the cafes and shops of the waterfront, with their long striped awnings and hand-made inscriptions, prompt foreign writers such as the Australian George Johnston, the Swede Axel Jensen and Canadian Leonard Cohen and others, to buy houses in Hydra and lay the foundations of a foreign community that exists to this day. Generally at some point in time, every global celebrity has set foot in Hydra. For Hydra this doesn’t really matter, since here ordinary people and celebrities are the same.
Thus Hydra became a destination mainly in the 60s when famous people from all over the world, such as Lennon, Clapton, Rolling Stones, Onassis and Callas, Pax Harrison, Peter Ustinov and many others passed through here, as well as a source of inspiration for many people of the spirit and the arts, such as Xatzikyriakos, Ghikas, Seferis, Eggonopoulos, Henry Miller, Tetsis, Byzantios…
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