Πλατεία Ελευθερίας

Eleftherias Square, Platia Eleftherias in Greek, is the central plaza of the town of Kos in Greece. It lies about ten metres above sea level, ringed by buildings from several eras. After the 1933 earthquake levelled much of the old town, the square took shape by 1935 as part of the rebuilding.

On the west side stands the former Casa del Fascio, once the house of the Italian fascists. Armando Bernabiti designed it during the Italian occupation of the Dodecanese. Its style belongs to the years between 1923 and 1943, when builders swept aside older oriental influences and turned to Rome. The architect Rodolfo Petracco handled the other two sides. He placed the Archaeological Museum to the north and the main market hall to the south. That hall, the Dimotiki Agora of 1934, is the largest building on the square and divides it from Platia Agias Paraskevis. The east side answers with the Defterdar Mosque, a reminder of Ottoman rule, and the old southwest bastion. The same Italian style echoes in the town hall next door and in the historic administrative centre at Linopotis.

Behind the museum and the mosque, Plateia Kazoyli continues the chain of public squares through this quarter. The market, the museum and the mosque give the square its multicultural mix, and locals and visitors fill its café tables. Neratzia Castle and the ancient agora lie close by, so the square makes a natural starting point for the rest of the town. The Defterdar Mosque took heavy damage in the earthquake of 2017, the newest mark on this layered ground.