Santorini

Santorini is undoubtedly the most popular island for a romantic holiday. Favorite destination for a honeymoon or an important anniversary, it is perfect from all points of view relating to love.

Despite its honeyed atmosphere, however, it is also sought after for its particular conformation which makes it unique among all the Greek Islands. Santorini is magical, with its Caldera, its villages perched on the cliffs, for its so different colors and for the atmosphere that only it can give.

Its original shape was round, but due to a violent volcanic eruption resulting in a terrifying earthquake in the 15th century, its center practically sank, radically changing its appearance. The explosion of magma emptied the gigantic basin beneath the island, causing the volcano to collapse, moving billions of cubic meters of water which, upon contact with the incandescent abyss, vaporized, unleashing a series of cyclopean explosions that destroyed the island and raised waves up to sixty meters high which reached the coasts of Crete and Egypt.

Eighteen kilometers long and 12 kilometers wide, it is a predominantly arid, rocky island but on the other hand offers breathtaking views and sunsets considered among the most beautiful in the world. Its name in Greek is Thira and there are several legends around it, including that it was actually the mythical Atlantis. There are many similarities with the ancient mysterious city but concretely to decree the veracity of the thing to date there is still nothing both material and written, the only thing recognized is that the Minoan civilization disappeared forever.

According to Greek mythology, Santorini was created by the God Poseidon the God of the Sea to punish men for their sins.

History of Santorini

Archaeological excavations reveal that it was already inhabited since the 4th millennium BC and that its civilization was much advanced compared to its time. Populated by the Minoans as demonstrated by the excavations of Akrotiri, it later became a Doric colony that settled in Santorini led by the leader Theras from whom it took its name and who built ports, cities, temples as well as introducing the alphabet. Subsequently it allied itself with Sparta and the Athenians, becoming an important naval base for the Ptolemies. During the Byzantine period it was Christianised, becoming an episcopal seat and from here onwards a continuous struggle and changes of dominion first with the Turks, then with the Genoese, and again with the Venetians until the arrival of the Ottoman Empire in 1579 which however left it complete autonomy and was never colonized by the new usurpers and everything remained like this until finally the whole of Greece fully achieved its independence.

People choose to come on holiday to Santorini mainly for its landscape which goes beyond the classic Greek island, for the warm colored sunsets, for its beaches which are so particular but beautiful at the same time, for the good food and for the taste of luxury , and yes because Santorini together with Mykonos are the two most expensive islands from all points of view in the Aegean. Here you will find gourmet restaurants, luxury boutiques and facilities with very high level services which obviously have a price but on the other hand will make you feel like a true VIP.

It's also good for families, but it's better if the children are already able to walk on their own, it's all ups and downs and with the wheelchair it really becomes a challenge and a job and also because the seabed of its coasts is immediately deep, the waters do not slope gently for the simple reason that it is an island born from an underground volcano, think of an inverted funnel therefore with only water around it which falls straight into the abyss.

Curiosity: did you know that the most exported product in Santorini is land for making concrete and that a large part of this land was used to build the Suez Canal?

Don't miss the villages that overlook the immense Caldera. Thira, the capital on the top of a cliff hanging above the Aegean, with its breathtaking view of the satellite islands, beautiful and sophisticated with small restaurants where you can dine by candlelight in a fairytale setting and where every step is a memory.

Fira Vecchia just above Kamari where the old church of Agios Minas is located, portrayed in all the postcards of Santorini and the most photographed on Instagram. Above the Kameni promontory, 400 meters above sea level, the remains of this ancient city dating back to the 9th BC with the festival terrace where rites were celebrated in honor of the God Apollo, or its two agoras with the temple of Dionysus and the Sanctuary of Apollo Karneios.

Again for archeology lovers, the Akrotiri site will be a real catapult into the past. Considered together with the island of Delos one of the two most important sites in the Cyclades, it preserves the remains of a city that was very advanced compared to the period of its existence. A port city during the Bronze Age, it was destroyed and buried during the eruption of 1629. It came to light in 1860 by chance while volcanic rocks were being extracted for the construction of the Suez Canal and in 1967, almost a century later, the works began again excavations giving the internal world a notable testimony of the past.

Some beaches in Santorini are named after the colors by virtue of the color of their coasts or the cliffs that surround them. Who has never heard of the Red Beach with its scarlet cliff, or the White Beach with its white rocks that seem to want to protect it, or the Black Beach where the beach is completely black unlike the others which are always dark but gray .

And then the food and wine routes to delight the palate and taste buds, with the legendary nectars of Santorini following the wine route an interesting itinerary where you can get to know the fruit of the native vines and taste the fabulous products of the land such as its tomatoes or its white aubergines.

To conclude, here too the list of things to do and see is many, but of course the fact remains that for one reason or another you have to see Santorini at least once in your life!