On a car-free Greek island where donkeys still carry the luggage, a Czech-Austrian aristocrat has turned an 18th-century sea captain’s house into a recording studio—and the art world’s favorite post–Art Basel party

By Josh Hickey

Nestled in the Saronic Gulf, a one-and-a-half-hour ferry ride from Athens, the village of Hydra rises sharply up the hillside behind its horseshoe-shaped harbor, creating the feeling of an amphitheater. Massive stone houses dominate the upper levels, and the austere exteriors hide vast ballrooms, painted ceilings, and marble-tiled terraces. The architecture is far from the whitewashed sugar-cube houses of many other islands. Ornate doors, colonnades, and the lavish interiors are reminders of bygone times when the island flourished in the early 19th century, and fortunes were made from shipbuilding and international commerce, assured by an unrivaled merchant fleet.

One such property is the Old Carpet Factory, now a legendary READ ON