Jacob Modiano Villa, Protected heritage building and ethnological museum in Thessaloniki, Greece

Jacob Modiano Villa is a four-story building constructed in the early 1900s with pronounced Art Nouveau details on its exterior and throughout its interior spaces. The house displays design features typical of this period in both decoration and room arrangement.

The house was completed in 1906 by architect Eli Modiano, who designed it for banker Jacob Modiano. After its construction, it served as a residence for important officials and is now protected cultural heritage.

The building now houses the Folklife and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia, displaying collections about how people in the region lived and the traditions that shaped their daily lives. Visitors can see objects that tell stories of local customs and social practices.

The villa stands on Vasilissis Olgas Avenue in the Exoches district, east of the city centre, on the coastal side of Thessaloniki. The museum occupies all four levels, with a central octagonal hall on each floor and rooms opening off it asymmetrically. A separate building added in 2008 in the 2,500 sq m courtyard hosts educational programmes and temporary exhibitions.

The architect Eli Modiano himself came from a family part of Thessaloniki's Jewish community. His work on this house shows the architectural contributions that this community made to the city.