Things to see and do Chora

This small museum in Pera Gialos traces the unique history of the island of Astipalaia from the Neolithic period to more recent medieval occupations, notably that of the Venetians. Among the finds on display from local excavations are pottery, tools and numismatics discovered at various sites on the island, including the kastro and the necropolis of Kylindra. The latter was dedicated to newborns and small children, as witnessed by the 3,000 or so funerary urns found on site.

Outside the fortifications of the medieval kastro, this large church dedicated to the Virgin Mary is the most important in Astypalaia, and certainly the most beautiful. Founded in 1762 by Saint Anthime the Blind, an ascetic from Cephalonia in the Ionian Islands, it houses a magnificent carved wooden iconostasis. The Virgin is celebrated here on Dormition Day (August 15), the biggest religious and folkloric celebration of the year. Residents and visitors gather for two days on the square to enjoy traditional dishes.

The folk museum project has been playing the Arlesian for many years, but in August 2023 a first exhibition was finally inaugurated, the first step towards a museum in its own right. For the time being, the exhibition is held in a renovated space within the kastro, next to the church of Saint-Georges. Here, you can discover some of the island's traditions, particularly in terms of clothing, song and music, dance and traditional festivities, the panygiria. The coming years should see this project take on even greater scope.