The eldest daughter of four sisters and two brothers left her family home in the Cretan village of Archontiki and moved to the town of Rethymno. Like other young women of that era, she was to be trained in the craft she loved: dressmaking.
Our beloved aunt, Maria Gkagkaoudaki, spent the early years of her youth in the house that her father had struggled to buy for her dowry. Over time, her warm home opened its arms and welcomed all of the sisters, with whom she shared the same talent for dressmaking. In those days, times were hard and people were poor, but the house lovingly made room for the whole family whenever it gathered under the same roof.
After all the siblings had passed on, we, the younger members who had experienced so much love and carried so many sweet memories of all our aunts deep in our souls, felt the need to honour the rich and important heritage we were fortunate to inherit.
Our most heartfelt desire was to revive the old house and once again fill it with a human presence that would give it life and vitality. We wanted to create a beautiful space that would bear the imprint of all our aunts and carry with it a piece of the Gkagkaoudakis family history.
With these thoughts in mind, we could not hope to find a more suitable name than “Casa di Gaga”.
These days, Casa di Gaga is a boutique property consisting of 7 luxury suites, 4 of which have the name of our beloved aunts in their honour. The house was renovated with respect for its traditional design, but our overriding goal was not to isolate the suites from one another. Each one is designed to overlook the impressive inner courtyard, adorned by a plain, marble pool, with the intent of reviving the memories of the past and cultivate a feeling of “neighbourhood”, where visitors can meet one another, relax and enjoy a carefree summertime holiday with their loved ones.
Our hope is that you will feel like part of our family and experience the same warmth and hospitality that we also enjoyed right in this very home.
We invite you to learn about our family’s heritage in the lovely town of Rethymno.
