Barbarossa attack ,Emporio is the largest village of Santorini and has the most inhabitants approx. 2,000, according to the 2001 census.
It is located on the south side of the island at a distance of 12 kilometers from Fira.
The traditional settlement was one of the island’s castles, as in medieval times, the houses were built next to each other to protect the inhabitants from pirate raids.
There are several theories about the origin of the name. The prevailing theory is that the name comes from the word trade, due to the area being the ancient commercial port named Eleusis.
Goulas Tower
The tower of Goula is the characteristic of the village, it is a square tower in the northern part of the village, built during the Venetian period, around the 15th century. Tradition says that the tower was built by the monks of the Monastery of Ag. John in Patmos, and there they kept the treasures of the monastery. In fact, some sources say that before the monastery belonged to the Darjeda family. Inside the tower there was a church that no longer exists, built by Saint Christodoulos, founder of Patmos Monastery. From the tower there was a tunnel leading to the castle.
The castle of Emporios
It is interesting to visit the inner part of the castle where one can see that the houses were built in a row stuck together in a peripheral arrangement of windows and entrances from inside the settlement. This protected the inhabitants from enemy raids. Usually each castle had only one entrance. The entrance to the castle of Emporio exists today and the locals call it “the Gate”.
In all the castles of the island, just outside the entrance, or close to it, there was a church of Agia Theodosia.
