The fear of pirates was the main cause for the inhabitants of Santorini Greece to build their houses on sites far from the sea, on high cliffs.

The villages of Santorini are similar to the other villages of the Cycladic islands: beautiful small white houses in narrow paved streets.

That kind of building was used for several reasons, like the restricted number of safe spaces, the protection from the wind in winter and the solar heat in summer, defence, the rarity of construction materials, and also the strong communal spirit.

Today, many modern settlements have appeared near the sea, in areas as Kamari or Perissa, but have lost all the elements of the traditional architecture.

The villages of Santorini Greece were the traditional architecture can be seen are: Fira, Oia, Imerovigli, Megalohori and others...