Enchanted Islands - Architecture of Santorini Greece

Pirates were always a fear for the inhabitants of Santorini Greece. For this reason, they built their houses on sites far from the sea and high on the cliffs.

Santorini villages are very similar to other villages of the Cycladic islands. The villages feature beautiful small white houses in narrow paved streets. This type of building homes was for several reasons:

A restricted number of safe spaces to build and dwell

Protection from the wind in winter and solar heat in the summer

Construction materials were scarce

Strong communal spirit

Security

In modern Santorini Greece you will find settlements have appeared near the sea in areas such as Kamari and Perissa, however, these settlements seem to have lost all the elements of the traditional architecture.

You can still find the traditional architecture of Santorini Greece in the villages of:

Fira: One of the most fascinating in architectural design perched on top of a cliff having thousands of steps throughout the village. The village of Fira is considered as one of the most famous or popular villages. It is also the capital.

Oia: Considered to be another famous and beautiful village in Santorini

Imerovigli

Megalohori

All the traditional villages of Santorini Greece have various mansions with beautiful marble doors. Sanotorini Greece in general is known to have some of the most beautiful villages in all the country of Greece.

Santorini Greece is probably known best by its picturesque white painted villages on top of these impressive high cliffs. There are usually blue doors and windows divided by narrow streets. Widespread wine making on the island is revealed by the many houses that have their own tank installed to crush the grapes. Many of these picturesque houses have been restored and made into beautiful villas. The cubic and circle shapes create beautiful shadows throughout the villages of Santorini Greece.

There are still some wonderful examples of days gone by architecture on the island; however, the architecture today is not always uniform. Some areas, such as the main street in the town of Akrotiri and the village of Kamari feature more nontraditional examples. Here you will find the Akrotiri lighthouse and the Archondiko Argyrou Mansion.

Another interesting aspect of their architecture is the cave-like structures that helped to keep an average temperature during the entire year. Many houses had these structures because of the volcanic history and terrain of Santorini.

Churches

The churches of Santorini are very interesting works of architecture. There are hundreds of churches and chapels in all different sizes, shapes, colors and religious beliefs. Some of these churches have become a trademark for Greece.

There is so much more to say about the distinct architecture in Santorini Greece. This article briefly describes a few areas. For more information about Santorini Greece follow the URL address in resource box to Enchanted Islands web site.

Disclaimer: The URL address in resource box is not associated with any of the attractions or companies mentioned in this article. Enchanted Islands web site does not endorse any of the attractions or companies mentioned in this article. This article and the web site are provided as a resource for planning trips to Enchanted Islands.

Written by: Connie Limon Visit: http://smalldogs2.com/EnchantedIslands for more information about the most popular enchanted islands in the year of 2008. Visit http://www.camelotarticles.com for a variety of FREE reprint articles.