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Astypalea
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This Dodecanese island is made up of two limestone reliefs connected by a very narrow isthmus that seems to give the island the shape of a butterfly perched on the sea with its wings spread.
Absolutely to visit the largest inhabited center of the island, built on a hill overlooking the sea, where the church of Panagia Portatissa is located, characterized by its large and showy white dome.
This island was a feud of the Querini family of Venice and traces of it still remain today and its influence is felt, albeit veiled, even in the local dialect.
The oldest part of the village, which developed around the fortress, is made up of small and narrow streets overlooked by the typical traditional houses with colored window frames, most of which today have been transformed into rooms and apartments to be rented to tourists; the most coveted apartments are undoubtedly those facing the windmills and those close to the cliffs that overlook the sea.
In the surroundings of the villages you can enjoy the typical landscapes of the Aegean: barren rock, Mediterranean scrub and a deep blue sea!
The most beautiful beaches are those of Agios Konstantinos and that of Kaminakia crescent-shaped with gray and silver colored sand; near the beach Vatses instead you can admire the Negrou Caves where in the past the pirates went to take refuge and to hide their loot.
Finally, in the eastern part of the island, the beach of Schinontas and where from the port of Maltezana you can take a boat to reach the islets of Koutsomitis and Kounoupi and the fjord of Vathy.
How to get there
Astipalea is isolated in the middle of the Aegean. But, good news, the island has a airport! The planes that land here are obviously small and arrive from Athens, but it can be a time-saving choice, given that there are many hours to do by ferry: from Athens, from 9 to 11 hours of travel (departing from Piraeus), while the connections for the other islands of the Dodecanese are only once a week, and for Paros, Naxos, Amorgos and Donoussa four times a week.
History
The first inhabitants of the island were the Carians, who called the island "Pyrra", which means "fire", due to the reddish color of the earth. According to legend, Astipalea was the sister of Europa, and had two children with Neptune: Anceus, king of Samos and one of the Argonauts and Eurypylea, king of Kos.
In the second century BC. the Romans invaded Astypalea, building a port for their ships. During the Byzantine period the island went through a period of wealth and tranquillity, and after the collapse of the empire Astipalea passed under the command of the Venetian Gisi and later of the Quirini family who dominated the island until the arrival of the Turks, in 1537.
Astypalea Beaches
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