Pyrgos

The old capital of the island, built in rings around a Venetian kasteli on a hill below Profitis Ilias, the highest peak. Its lanes wind up through arches and little churches to the top, where you can see both coasts and the whole caldera at once. When the day trippers have gone back to Fira, the village grows quiet and the terraces fill for sunset. On the night of Good Friday thousands of small lights are set along its walls and roofs.