A short guide to the maritime heritage of Oía and the historical layers of Santorini, from Minoan Akrotíri to today's Cycladic village.
Oía sits on the northern tip of Santorini. It is the island's most photographed village, celebrated for its picturesque architecture and its uninterrupted view over the caldera and the volcano. Beyond its beauty, Oía is a historic settlement, deeply tied to the maritime life of the Santorinians.
Thanks to its port, Oía developed a remarkable seafaring tradition from the late eighteenth century until the mid-twentieth, reaching its peak in the 1880s. Historical records list a Greek fleet of some 2,500 sailing vessels, 170 of them belonged to Santorini, and seventy of those were large overseas sailing brigs.
Oían ships crossed the seas carrying merchandise to and from Western Europe. They linked the small port of Oía with cities of the Mediterranean, the Black, the White and the Red Sea, and, beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, with the Atlantic Ocean.
The village's maritime life is visible in its architecture. The hyposkafa, cave houses carved into the cliffs, revealed only their arched entrance from outside, allowing their sailor inhabitants to remain sheltered from pirates. Higher up on the rim, captains and shipowners built the larger, more comfortable mansions we still see today.
Today Oía has been carefully rebuilt after the earthquake, in respect of its traditional style. It remains a picturesque settlement of cave houses and mansions, blue-domed churches and whitewashed walls, best appreciated with an early morning stroll through its lanes, before the shops open and the crowds arrive.
The earliest human presence on Santorini dates to the Neolithic Period. Around 3600 BC an important civilisation flourished on the island, excavations near Akrotíri and the Red Beach have revealed a Minoan-style city with wall paintings and pottery mirroring those of Crete.
In antiquity the island was called Strongíli, 'round' in Greek. Around 1500 BC a colossal volcanic eruption devastated it. The blast is widely believed to have triggered the collapse of the Minoan civilisation on Crete, 70 nautical miles away, through massive tsunamis. The island's centre sank; earthquakes destroyed much of what remained.
Some ancient myths tie Santorini's destruction to the legend of Atlantis. Phoenicians settled on ancient Thera around 1300 BC and stayed for five generations. The Lacedaemonians followed around 1100 BC, and by 825 BC the inhabitants, by then Therans, were using the Phoenician alphabet.
Between the 7th and 6th centuries BC, Thera traded with most Greek cities and islands. Its central location in the Aegean made it, during the Hellenistic period, a significant commercial hub and a strategically placed naval base.
Under Byzantine rule the church of Episkopí Goniás is founded. In 1204 the island passes to the Venetian Marco Sanudo and joins the Duchy of the Aegean. It takes its current name, Santorini, from Santa Irini, a Catholic church of the era. This period is marked by conflict between Venetians and pirates.
During Ottoman rule, Santorini develops considerable trade with the ports of the Eastern Mediterranean, a comparatively prosperous era for the island.
The wars of the 20th century weaken the local economy, and after the catastrophic 1956 earthquake much of the population leaves. Tourism begins in the 1970s and grows steadily; today Santorini is among the world's leading destinations, celebrated for its landscapes, its wines, and its role as a setting for weddings, honeymoons and international conferences.
Four private suites, steps from the pedestrian street and the caldera walk.