Tinos / Cyclades: overview (click to enlarge)

Tinos / Clyclades: Travel information (click to enlarge)
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Characteristics

Links

◊ Tinos The Aegean Muse

◊ Tinos ABOUT

◊ Tinos Secret

◊ The official site of the Holy Church of Panagia of Tinos

◊ Cultural Foundation of Tinos

◊ Chamber of Cyclades

Τinos – A Monument of Culture and Natural Beauty

For nature-lovers, Tinos is an absolute paradise, as it is also for artists and for all those who seek a tranquil lifestyle on an island endowed with a genuine Cycladic character and atmosphere and a rich history and cultural and intellectual tradition. Tinos, just a stone’s throw away from cosmopolitan Mykonos, geographically an extension of the island of Andros and lying northeast of the island of Syros, is the third largest island of the Cyclades. With a total land surface area of 200 km2, a coastline of 105 km and about 8,000 permanent residents, Tinos possesses a very special magnetism thanks to its alluring landscapes, its brilliant sunlight and pleasant climate, its rich cultural past, its great diversity of local traditions and its quite unique architecture. This array of captivating features is truly exceptional among the Greek islands.

A Uniquely Enchanting Setting
On the island of Tinos, the visitor is literally dazzled by a mosaic of alternating images of natural beauty, of picturesque traditional gleaming-white villages, of magical seashores, of the unparalleled brightness of the light that pervades all, of the sea that acts as a vast reflector of the sun, of the cerulean-blue sky. Scattered chapels and ornate dovecotes (built for the breeding of pigeons, these are veritable ‘works of embroidery’ in stone) adorn the scenery of the island. All this in combination also with the endless rows of drystone-walled terraces creates a single “sculptured” environment, which accounts for the well-known Greek philosopher Cornelius Castoriades’ characterization of Tinos as the “handcrafted island”. Tinos is indeed a place that emphasizes the aesthetic of stone working: the stone-built boundaries of the fields, the chapels, the dovecotes, the “kelia” (local name for old-time dwellings or stables) are all lovingly and highly creatively fashioned out of the local stone. Meanwhile, the famous Tinian marble, of various shades of green, white and grey, is to be found composing and/or adorning numerous buildings.

Culture: Spotlight on Marble Sculpting
Marble carving and sculpting developed on the island during the latter period of Venetian rule, reaching its zenith in the 19th century when this art spread beyond the bounds of Tinos and reached the Holy Mountain of Athos, Constantinople, Egypt, Russia, North America and many other places round the world, leaving everywhere its imprint on lintels, altarpieces, fountains, tombstones, plaques in large cemeteries of Greece, in churches of the Greek diaspora, even on the Acropolis. Numerous of the foremost marble sculptors and representatives of modern Greek sculpture, such as Chalepas, Philoppotes, Lytras, Sochos, the Vitalis brothers and many more, have dedicated works that still today embellish important buildings of Athens, among which the Archaeological Museum, the National Art Gallery, the Polytechnic School, the Zappeion Exhibition Hall, the Old Palace/present-day Parliament, the University and the National Academy. Today, the art of marble sculpting and carving is preserved unaltered through time thanks to the Pyrgos School of Fine Arts and the many marble sculptors who, in their workshops, process and shape the marble of the island.

A Center of Orthodoxy
Tinos is also one of the most important centers of Greek Orthodoxy. The Church of the Panagia Megalochari with the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, whose blessing pervades the entire island, is a pole of attraction for thousands of pilgrims from round the world each year.

Tinos - Delos
In antiquity, Tinos was renowned as being a stop-off point of worship for the faithful on their way to Delos, the great devotional center of the age, of pan-Hellenic religious significance. Today, the uninhabited island of Delos forms a museum in itself of enormous attraction for every history enthusiast thanks to its numerous archeological remains and ongoing excavations: it is only half an hour from Tinos by ship and one hour by caique. Near Kionia beach and the ancient port of Tinos are the ruins of the Doric temple dedicated to the god Poseidon.

Must-see attractions / Not to miss:
Here is a short roundup of only a very few of the countless sights that visitors will gradually discover during their stay on this island of Greek tradition and art.

• The very numerous dovecotes of the island (over six hundred of them), a remarkable example of traditional Tinian architecture.

• The Temple of Poseidon and Amphitrite, which is dated to the 5th c. BC, at Kionia, near the ‘Chora’ (capital) of Tinos.

• The Archaeological Museum, on the road leading from the port to the Church of the Panagia/Virgin Mary Megalochari, which houses a rich collection of exhibits from antiquity as well as findings from the Temple of Poseidon.

• Τhe Museum of Tinian Arts, in Pyrgos, where one has the opportunity to admire great works by painters and sculptors, such as Ghyzis, Chalepas, Vitalis, Philippotis and Sochos.

• The house and museum of Giannoulis Chalepas, with works and personal belongings of the famous sculptor, in Pyrgos.

• Τhe churches and chapels of Tinos, over 2,000, the most important one being the church of the Panagia/Virgin Mary Megalochari the ‘Chora’ (capital) of Tinos.

• At Volakas (Volax), the lunar-like landscape with immense, rounded granite boulders, the result of a globally unique geological formation.