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5 FACTS ABOUT
SANTORINI
5 FACTS ABOUT SANTORINI
Anyone that has ever though about visiting Greece probably has had the picture of white houses with blue roofs in their mind. It is the epitome of Greece – this is why Santorini is the business card of Greece. The island is covered in white and blue houses, beautifully built into the volcanic rock. Small alleys make their way up steep mountains, donkeys dressed with traditional accessories, views to cut your breath.
Here are 5 facts about this pearl of the Cyclades:
1) Santorini Basics
The Santorini caldera is a cyclic formation of 5 islands: Thera, Nea Kameni, Palia Kameni, Aspronisi and Therasia. Because of its round formation it used to be called Stroggile (the round one) in ancient times. It is one of the most important and most visited islands in Greek tourism.
It's capital is Thira (also Fira) and the most well known village Oia, which is to be seen in most photography, travel catalogues and Instagram profiles.
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2) Santorini is the result of a volcano eruption
Around 1600 before Christ the so called Minoan Eruption, which was one of the largest eruptions on earth ever recorded, formed the island that we nowadays know as Santorini (officially Thera – named after the volcano that devastated the island). Some experts believe that this event has indirectly caused the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete due to following tsunamis and earthquakes.
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3) Santorini is known for its great wine
The wine production in Santorini is based on it's indigenous grape varieties, that are very resistant and are able to extract water from dew. The most important Santorini wine is the so called “holy wine” the Vinosanto. It is a sweet desert wine that undergoes a long aging period (up to 25 years).
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4) The name Santorini is actually Roman
Santorini got its name in the thirteenth century by the latin empire. It is a combination of Santa and Irene – so Saint Irene – which is the name of the old cathedral in Perissa. Before the Latin Empire Santorini was known as Kallisti – which translates to “the most beautiful”or Thera – which got reintroduced as the official name in the 19th century.
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5) Santorini might be the foundation of Atlantis
Research suggest that Santorini might be the foundation of Plato's Atlantis. Not only raised the excavation of Akrotiri (an important Minoan port-town that was covered in ashes after the volcano eruption) interest in this theory but with the reconstruction of the island's pre-eruption shape, a great amount of similarities with Plato's description of Atlantis were found.