What are some fun facts about Santorini?
The entire island of Santorini is actually a volcanic rock. It has taken thousands of volcanic eruptions for the island to be formed. In the last 400.000 years, the Santorini volcano had erupted over 100 times. Due to its volcanic nature, you can enjoy spending time on multi-colored beaches during your holidays.
How old is Santorini?
Santorini, an island of Cyclades, is an Aegean volcanic island arc (75,79 sq. km; 11400 inhab.) surfaced in the prehistoric age. Nowadays it is just the eastern edge of an ancient crater sunk into the sea about 2000 years BC, after an explosive eruption of the Volcano.
What’s Santorini famous for?
Santorini is the most famous of all Greek islands and a number one summer destination worldwide. The beauty of this island is incomparable to any other in the world. The amazing Caldera formed by the volcanic eruption centuries ago, resulted in the most amazing sea views a human eye can ever see.
How many churches are in Santorini?
As is the case throughout the Cyclades, Santorini is abundant with more than 450 churches of all shapes and sizes.
What is the history of Santorini?
According to searches and excavations on Santorini, the first human presence on the island is situated back to the Neolithic Period. Santorini hosted an important civilization around 3600 BC. Discoveries made in an important city near Akrotiri and the famous Red Beach showed the existence of an ancient Minoan colony.
When was Oia Santorini built?
It is estimated that it was built before 1480 by the Venetian dominants of the island and was one of the five castles of the island. Today it is considered the most “favorite” place to enjoy the sunset and to view (and photograph …) Oia, as it stretches along the caldera.
How Santorini got its name?
Names. Santorini was named by the Latin Empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene, from the name of the old cathedral in the village of Perissa – the name Santorini is a contraction of the name Santa Irini.
Is Santorini on a volcano?
Although dormant, Santorini is an active volcano. Numerous minor and medium-sized, mainly effusive, eruptions have built the dark-colored lava shields of Nea and Palea Kameni inside the caldera. Their last eruption was in 1950, and now only fumarolic activity, primarily inside the recently active craters, takes place.
What animals live in Santorini?
As for the fauna, there are no wild animals in Santorini, just the common homebred animals and some typical birds of Greece, including seagulls, swallows, common quails, rock doves, house sparrows, small owls and other birds that are less commonly spotted.
What language is spoken in Santorini?
Greek
Greek is the official language, though considering the large influx of visitors the island receives (as many as 10,000 cruise ship tourists alone come ashore daily), you’re more likely to run into English-speaking Greeks than not, especially in tourist areas.