General information: For ages Oia was called Epano Meria (Upper Side), since it is built in the northern side of the island. It is an impressive settlement known all over the world for the magnificent sunset from its Goulas. In recent years the buildings have become hotels, restaurants, cafes, stores. The settlement is very popular and therefore from dawn till dusk it is filled with visitors. Nights in Oia remain peaceful though, and walking in the center marble laid road, loitering the impressive and exquisitely lit buildings is a real pleasure.

Carved-in buildings and captains’ houses: Characteristics of the settlement are its carved-in buildings and the so called captains’ houses (“kapetanospita”) having unusual neoclassic elements. As writer Kadio Kolimva from Oia notes: “…carved-in buildings of Oia with stubbornness from the downslope are trying to find a space to exist. Houses without foundations spread out in the light, illuminated early, with nothing to disturb their concatenation of lines and colors. In 1993, Oia was characterized as a traditional settlement by presidential decree, and the entire island of Santorini as an area of “exceptional natural beauty”.