Sifnos island, lies in between Serifos, Kimolos and Antiparos and is 78 nautical miles from Piraeus. It has an area of 74 sq. km. and a shoreline of 70 km, with a population of 2000. The island is reached on the ferries which run on the Piraeus- Kythnos- Serifos- Sifnos- Milos- Kimolos line, and there are also sailings to other islands in the Cyclades. Sifnos was very wealthy in ancient times, thanks to its gold and silver mines. Proof of this, is the treasury which the Siphnians built at Delphi in the 6th century BC to house their offerings. However, it appears that something went wrong with the mines; either they were worked out or flooded by the sea -we do not know which- and their production ceased. The Siphnians suddenly found themselves poor. In 1207, the Venetian Marco Sanudo conquered Sifnos and it was incorporated into the Duchy of Naxos. In 1537, it was conquered by the Turks. It played its part in the struggle for liberty in 1821 and was united with Greece in 1832. Sifnos, has a lot of things to offer, even in the most demanding visitor. The imposing landscapes, the picturesque settlements like Apollonia, Kamares and Artemonas, the beautiful beaches like Platys Yalos, the medieval villages like Kastro and the old monasteries like Chrysopigi, taken together with island's excellent infrastructure, made Sifnos a very popular destination. A monotonous gray landscape of rock, broken up here and there by a gleaming white chapel, is the first impression made of visitors as the ferry draws into the harbour. But this gives them no idea of the beauty-spots waiting to be discovered inland, which together with the island's superb architecture, rank it among the jewels of the Aegean. The island was famous in ancient times for the wealth which came from its gold and silver mines and the quarries of Sifnos stone. It enjoyed great prosperity in Classical times, as can be seen from its Treasury, dedicated to Apollo at Delphi. An attractive drive from the port of Kamares, a modern town with pottery workshops, brings us to the island's capital, Apollonia. Standing on three hillsides, with its typical Cycladic style of architecture, it is breathtakingly beautiful. It has an interesting folklore museum, while the churches of the greatest interest are those of Our Lady 'Ouranofora' and St. Sozon. Like that of the villages round about (Artemonas, Exambela, Kato Petali), the architecture of Apolonia is an odd assemblage in which walls, terraces, courtyards and alleyways form large cubes in a continuous complex, in total harmony with the natural environment. The sole exception to this is the old capital of Kastro, which remains an example of medieval town planning. A collection of Archaic and Hellenistic sculpture and of ceramics from the Geometric to the Byzantine period is on display in its Archaeological Museum. |
