Tinos

Tinos is the great pilgrimage destination of Orthodox Greece: in 1823 a nun's vision led to the discovery of an icon of the Annunciation, and the church of Panagia Evangelistria was built over the site, its approach carpeted so that pilgrims can crawl the length of the street uphill, which many do on 15 August, when the island fills entirely. Away from the town, Tinos is one of the most rewarding Cycladic islands to explore: around forty villages of marble and whitewash scattered across terraced hills, more than a thousand ornamental dovecotes built by the Venetians and elaborated by locals into pierced stone lacework, the granite boulder field around Volax, and a marble-carving tradition centred on Pyrgos with its own school and museum.

History

In antiquity the island was called Tenos, and also Hydroussa for its many springs and Ophioussa for its snakes; under Xerxes the Tenians were forced to serve in the Persian fleet, but a Tenian trireme deserted to the Greeks just before Salamis in 480 BCE, so their name was inscribed on the tripod at Delphi among the states that defeated the Persians. After the Fourth Crusade Tinos belonged to the Venetian Andrea Ghisi, whose heirs held it until 1390, when the last of the line left Tinos and Mykonos to Venice; Venice ruled it until the Ottomans took it in 1715, and in 1821 the islanders joined the Greek War of Independence (Wikipedia, Tinos).

The main sights

• Panagia Evangelistria - the pilgrimage church above the town.
• The dovecotes - over a thousand decorated stone towers across the terraces.
• The marble villages - Pyrgos, Isternia, Kardiani and others in the hills.
• Volax - the village set among round granite boulders.

When to go

May, June, September and October for walking and villages without the pilgrimage crush. Around 15 August the island is overwhelmed and accommodation is booked months ahead. Winter is windy and quiet.

Things to know

The town around the church is dense with shops selling candles and votives, which some find moving and others commercial. Beaches are decent but not the island's strength. The meltemi blows hard here in summer.

Nearby

Mykonos is thirty minutes by ferry; Syros and Andros are equally close on other lines.

Key facts