Over
50 villages and hamlets enliven the wild slopes of the
Tinian mountains. In these highland settlements the
traditional architecture is quite well preserved. The
small courtyards of the houses are filled with flowers,
cobbled streets still pass beneath whitewashed balconies,
little chapels stand beside Venetian belltowers and
everywhere there are marble reliefs and ornaments. Pyrgos
(or Panormos), the most famous of the villages of Tinos,
retains its traditional character unscathed and belongs
to the association of traditional settlements "Communities
of the Greeks". At Tarabado there are the most
beautiful dovecotes on Tinos; Volaxc standsin a weird
landscape of rounded rocks; Triantaros, Falatados, Skalados,
Kampos, Ktikados, Agapi, Isternia, Pyrgos and remote,
forgotten Marla, all merit a visit.
Since
the time of Venetian rule the craft of marble-carving flourished
on Tinos. Over the years Tinian masons and stone cutters developed
into notable folk artists who fashioned from the well-known
Tinian marble all manner of reliefs, fountains, fanlights, sculpted
lintels, coats of arms and ecclesiastical carvings. Centres
of marble-carving on the island are the villages of Pyrgos and
Isternia, where there are many workshops opering today, producing
masterpieces in marble. Virtually
all visitors in Tinos come here to venerate the icon of the
Virgin Megalochari, which is kept in the magnificent church
dedicated to the Annunciation to the Virgin, near the island's
harbour. The icon was found buried on this spot, on 31 January
1823, after it had been revealed in a dream to the nun Pelagia
who was living in the Kechrovouni Convent. Th eVirgin of Tinos
is the most popular and miraculous icon of the Greek Orthodox
faithand ots splendid feast days, on 25 March and primarily
on 15 August, are linked with important events in Modern Greek
history. Yhe most memorable are the War of the Independence
in 1821 and the Greek-Italian hostilities in 1940, one of the
basic pretexts for which was the torpedoing of the cruiser Elli
in Tinos harbour, by an Italian submarine on 15 August 1940.
The
terrain of Tinos is steep and there are few extensive sandy
beaches. The best are those at Aghios Fokas, Kionia, Aghios
Giannis-Porto and Kolimbithres. However, the jewels of the island's
beaches are hidden in the countless coves of its indented coasts.
Some accessible along dirt tracks, while many can only be reached
by boat. These include the superb beaches at Aspros Gialos,
Apigania, Panousa, Ballos, Pachia Ammos, Lychnaftia, Livada,
Aghiathalassa at Panormos and the tiny secluded beaches at Aghii
Theodori, by the strait between Tinos and Andros.
Map of Cyclades Islands
Map of Tinos
The
most characteristic picture of the Tinian landscape is of the
traditional snow-white dovecotes which are scattered all over,
amidst the vineyards and the figtrees. The first dovecotes were
erected on Tinos during the period of Venetian rule. They proliferated
later, since doves or pigeons in oil and vinegar were an expensive
delicacy in the markets of Constantinople. The Tinian dovecotes
are built of stone - schist and limestone - and their intricate
designs bear witness to the inventive imagination of the Tinian
masons, since no two of the 1000 or so dovecotes on the island
are alike: each is unique.
Stock-raising
is highly developed on Tinos and the island has a fine culinary
tradition in meat and dairy products. The visitor should sample
the local myzithra (mild white cheese) and kopanisti (tangy soft
cheese), the spicy Tinian sausage and the tasty louza (smoked
ham sliced wafer thin), while in the tavernas of villages off
the beaten track, he/she should ask for local omelettes, marathotiganita
(vegetable fritter with dill) and the delicious local sirloin
steaks. Tinos
is not only known as the island of the Virgin, but also as the
island of the artists. And rightly so, since some of the most
important artists in Modern Greece were born here. Indeed many
of them helped form the aesthetics of the newly-founded Greek
state in the 19th century. The two pre-eminent painters Nikephoros
Lytras and Nikolaos Gyzis hailed from Tinos, while the island's
tradition in marble-carving was worthily represented by the
famous Tinian sculptors D. Philippotis, G. Voulgaris, L. Sochos
and, above all, by the so-called "Pheidias" of Modern
Greece, the very talented Yannoulis Chalepas.
