Editing Santorini (section)

== Attractions ==
=== Architecture ===
The traditional architecture of Santorini is similar to that of the other [[Cyclades]], with low-lying cubical houses, made of local stone and [[whitewash]]ed or limewashed with various volcanic ashes used as colours. These colours, in recent years, tend to replace white in the colour of house façades, according to the traditional architecture of the island as it was developed until the great earthquake of 1956. The unique characteristic is the common use of the ''hypóskapha'': extensions of houses dug sideways or downwards into the surrounding [[pumice]]. These rooms are prized because of the high insulation provided by the air-filled pumice, and are used as living quarters of unique coolness in the summer and warmth in the winter. These are premium storage space for produce, especially for wine cellaring: the ''Kánava'' wineries of Santorini.

When strong earthquakes struck the island in 1956, half the buildings were completely destroyed and a large number suffered repairable damage. The underground dwellings along the ridge overlooking the caldera, where the instability of the soil was responsible for the great extent of the damage, needed to be evacuated. Most of the population of Santorini had to emigrate to Piraeus and Athens.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://users.ntua.gr/kamy/istanbul.pdf |title=Restoration, Reconstruction and Simulacra |access-date=9 March 2014 |archive-date=7 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507142624/http://users.ntua.gr/kamy/istanbul.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>{{clear left}}
[[File:Firostefani.jpg|thumb|Firostefani village]]
[[File:Streets of Firostefani, Santorini island (Thira), Greece-2.jpg|thumb|Street of Firostefani]]

=== Fortifications ===
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Cyclades were under threat from pirates who plundered the harvests, enslaved men and women and sold them in the slave markets. The small bays of the island were also ideal as hideouts. In response the islanders built their settlements at the highest, most inaccessible points, and very close to, or on top of, each other; while their external walls, devoid of openings, formed a protective perimeter around the village. In addition the following additional types of fortifications were built throughout the island to protect the island's inhabitants.
*'''{{lang|el|Casteli}}''' (castles), also written as kasteli, were large fortified permanent settlements. There were five on the island, Agios Nikolaos (at Oia), Akrotiri, Emborio, Pyrgos, and Skaros. At the entrance to every {{lang|el|casteli}} was a church dedicated to Agia (St.) Theodosia, the Protector-Saint of castles.
*'''{{lang|el|Goulas}}''' (from the Turkish word {{lang|tr|kule}} which means 'tower'<ref>Σπηλιοπούλου Ι.-Κωτσάκης Α., Οι Πύργοι και οι οχυρωμένες κατοικίες των νησιών του Αιγαίου και της Πελοποννήσου (14ος-19ος αι.), Eoa Kai Esperia, 8 (2013), pp. 254–255 [https://www.academia.edu/36552130/ΟΙ_ΠΥΡΓΟΙ_ΚΑΙ_ΟΙ_ΟΧΥΡΩΜΕΝΕΣ_ΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΕΣ_ΤΩΝ_ΝΗΣΙΩΝ_ΤΟΥ_ΑΙΓΑΙΟΥ_ΚΑΙ_ΤΗΣ_ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΥ_14ΟΣ19ΟΣ_ΑΙ_ΜΙΑ_ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΟΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΙΚΗ_ΠΡΟΣΕΓΓΙΣΗ_ΜΕ_ΕΜΦΑΣΗ_ΣΤΗΝ_ΠΕΡΙΠΤΩΣΗ_ΤΗΣ_ΝΑΞΟΥ]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109004026/https://www.academia.edu/36552130/%CE%9F%CE%99_%CE%A0%CE%A5%CE%A1%CE%93%CE%9F%CE%99_%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%99_%CE%9F%CE%99_%CE%9F%CE%A7%CE%A5%CE%A1%CE%A9%CE%9C%CE%95%CE%9D%CE%95%CE%A3_%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A4%CE%9F%CE%99%CE%9A%CE%99%CE%95%CE%A3_%CE%A4%CE%A9%CE%9D_%CE%9D%CE%97%CE%A3%CE%99%CE%A9%CE%9D_%CE%A4%CE%9F%CE%A5_%CE%91%CE%99%CE%93%CE%91%CE%99%CE%9F%CE%A5_%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%99_%CE%A4%CE%97%CE%A3_%CE%A0%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%9F%CE%A0%CE%9F%CE%9D%CE%9D%CE%97%CE%A3%CE%9F%CE%A5_14%CE%9F%CE%A319%CE%9F%CE%A3_%CE%91%CE%99_%CE%9C%CE%99%CE%91_%CE%99%CE%A3%CE%A4%CE%9F%CE%A1%CE%99%CE%9A%CE%9F%CE%A0%CE%9F%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%A4%CE%99%CE%A3%CE%9C%CE%99%CE%9A%CE%97_%CE%A0%CE%A1%CE%9F%CE%A3%CE%95%CE%93%CE%93%CE%99%CE%A3%CE%97_%CE%9C%CE%95_%CE%95%CE%9C%CE%A6%CE%91%CE%A3%CE%97_%CE%A3%CE%A4%CE%97%CE%9D_%CE%A0%CE%95%CE%A1%CE%99%CE%A0%CE%A4%CE%A9%CE%A3%CE%97_%CE%A4%CE%97%CE%A3_%CE%9D%CE%91%CE%9E%CE%9F%CE%A5|date=9 November 2022}}.</ref>) were multi-storey, rectangular, and the highest tower of most kastelli. There were four goulas on the island. They were used both as an observatory and as a place of refuge for the islanders. They had thick walls, parapets, an iron gate, murder holes, and embrasures.
*'''{{lang|el|Viglio}}''' were small coastal watchtowers, which were permanently garrisoned, from where a watch was maintained and an alarm raised when a pirate ship was sighted.