Hollywood returned to the picturesque isle of Hydra on Friday with the arrival of “A-lister” Brad Pitt and much of the production crew for the shooting of the film “The Riders”, coming nearly seven decades after “Boy on a Dolphin” used the same island as its setting to showcase the then “sizzling” Italian bombshell Sophia Loren.
Loren with veteran actor Clifton Webb.
Rocky Hydra, now an eponymous and jet-setting destination, is where legendary poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen found solace, inspiration and love in the early 1960s, at the time when nary a tourist had heard of the Saronic Gulf island with no cars or even electricity at times.
A young Leonard Cohen on Hydra, in the early 1960s, with his then girlfriend and ‘muse’, Marianne Ihlen from Norway.
In the next few days, the isle’s harbor and its narrow streets will be transformed into a open-air film set, with the excitement of local residents and business owners clearly evident due to the presence of the Hollywood crew and Brad Pitt
“Once again in its history, Hydra offers its unique architecture and natural environment for a Hollywood production,” the island’s mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, declared on Friday.
Pitt’s home away from home Hydra
According to well-sourced reports, Brad Pitt chose to stay in a small, unassuming stone mansion, owned by a noted architect. A renovation has transformed the abode into a modern manor house.
The residence features a swimming pool, a terrace with sunset views and a bathroom with panoramic views that reportedly impressed the Hollywood star.
As reported, Pitt, who arrived in Hydra on Thursday, began indoor filming on Friday morning at the former school of fine arts.
Pitt with his partner, Ines de Ramon.
An aerial view of Hydra’s harbour and town
