Imerovigli

The name Imerovigli comes from the words imera (day) and vigla (watchtower). Since it was at the top of the Caldera, it is possible that a lookout post for the pirates' ships once stood here.

Archives show that there has been a building network in Imerovigli as early as late 16th century.

It was the receiving for the inhabitants who were deserting Skaros castle and built the monastery of Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas) in 1816. The village grew linearly along the Caldera rim. From there a complex of narrow paths stemmed following the natural slopes of the ground. This constituted the circulation network of the settlement.

Before the 1956 earthquake, Imerovigli boasted the church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, or Panagia Malteza (Holy Virgin the Maltese), built in the end of the 19th century, in Byzantine style. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, large manors stood side by side along the homes of the locals.

The earthquake damaged a big part of the village and most churches were ruined (Holy Virgin the Maltese, Panagia Xeportiani, Stavros, St Anthony the New). Agios Nikolaos monastery was repaired later on.

However, in the 1970s people returned and started restoring their houses. Many of them were sold in order to become hotels and villas.

Source: www.santorini.gr