Painted Village in Greece.
10 Facts About The Tiny Painted Village in Greece You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
No doubt you’ve seen countless travel photos of Mykonos, Santori or the ruins in Athens. But the beautiful Greek island of Chios is often not included in the conversation of travel around Greece.
Despite the fact that it’s home to an unforgettable little painted village that is sure to delight and surprise you.
And yet, I’ve never seen pictures of it anywhere else online!
This lesser-known gem of Greece is a town called Pygri.
So without further ado, here’s 10 facts about this village to inspire your trip!
10. It’s located on the island of Chios.
The Greek island of Chios is located across the Aegean sea from Athens. It’s closer to Turkey than the rest of Greece. When you’re standing on certain beaches of Chios, you can actually see the shore of Turkey with the naked eye.
9. Pyrgi is located on the southern end of the island and is one of the largest villages in Chios
Pyrgi is about 35 minutes from the main downtown area and there are a number of ways to get around the island.
You can rent a car or you can rent a motorbike. You can also order a cab.
Despite it being the largest village, there is still less than 1,000 residents living in the little painted village.
8. The decorative motives in the facade of the houses are called xysta.
The beautiful, intricate patterns are designed and constructed into the plaster of the houses by traditional craftsmen.
It has become tradition in the village to maintain the wonderfully complicated xysta on every wall, balcony, church and open surface in the village.
7. Pyrgi still maintains it’s medieval style to this very day.
In true medieval style, the roads are narrow and lined with arches.
As you walk through the tight, winding streets of Pyrgi it really will feel as though you’ve traveled back in time to some bizarre, storybook town.
Although the town is small, I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
6. The stone houses of Pyrgi are built close to each other to build a defensive wall for the city.
Pyrgi has been standing for hundreds of years and during that time, it has seen everything from major earthquakes to bloody massacres to pirate raids. The buildings were strategically built to provide a defensive wall of safety to protect villagers.
While the little town isn’t a fortress, it’s dense walls with limited entries does prevent excessive incoming traffic into the village.
5. Pyrgi first formed when residents gathered to avoid pirate raids.
In the 11th Century, a fortress and the Nea Moni (New Monastery) was built to defend the Chios port from pirates. As the raids worsened, the population of Pyrgi grew as people from all over Chios fled to the safety of villages more inland.
4. Pyrgi is one of several “mastic villages”
And what is mastic village you may ask? It simply means that the villagers harvest a sticky substance (known as mastic) from trees. It was a hugely desirable and profitable crop that was originally only found on Chios.
During the Ottoman rule of Chios, mastic was worth its weight in gold. You could be executed by order of the sultan just for stealing some of the sticky, bubble gum residue.
Our tour guide pulled the van over on the side of the road so we could see a mastic tree up close and pop some of the “tears of Chios” in our mouth. It really is just like bubble gum but with an earthy flavor!
3. It survived a great earthquake in 1881.
The 1881 Chios earthquake occurred on April 3rd with a magnitude of 7.3 and nearly 8,000 deaths.
The actual town of Chios was devastated largely due to the narrowness of the streets. Nearby cities in Turkey lost 40% of the homes. But the little painted village in Greece survived.
2. If you visit in the off-season, you’ll have the place to yourself.
Like the rest of Greece, Chios is busiest in the summer season.
However if you visit in the off season, you can have the place to yourself.
It just depends what type of trip you’d like to take. In the summer you can expect more crowds but if you go late in the winter, many of the restaurants or car rental places will be closed.
We loved having the island mostly to ourselves in October but there were some smaller bars and restaurants that had already closed for the season.
1. You can go cave spelunking nearby.
Chios is full of many interesting and surprisingly places to explore. But did you know experts consider it a geological paradise?
Olympi and Ayo Galas Caves are both open to the public and make for adventurous day trips!
While you have a car rented for your trip to Pyrgi, also plan to go cave exploring on the island!
Want more information? This blog post is a great resource for a weekend guide to Chios.
More on Greece: 10 TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST VISIT TO ATHENS & VIEWS OF THE ACROPOLIS FROM MY BED- WHERE I STAYED IN ATHENS!
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Painted Village in Greece. Painted Village in Greece.
Nope never heard of this place but I WANNA GO!!!!! Obsessed. Sending this link to my sister right now too. 😂😂😂😂
I know it is the cutest!!! I wish I had my new camera with me when I was there because there were a lot of streets I didn’t even photograph. It’s GORGEOUS! Your sister would loveeee it 🙂