Santorini or Thira is a small archipelago of volcanic islands located in the Aegean sea, in the south of the Cyclades archipelago, with 76 km².
Its main island is Thyra. This name was allotted by the Venetian in the XIIIth century in reference to "Santa Irini".
The island counts approximately 11 000 inhabitants of various nationalities: Albanian, Greeks, Bulgarian... most of the local ones having emigrated towards continental Greece after the last volcanic eruption.
Santorini is the volcanic centre most active of the Aegean arc with the island of Nea Kameni. The island consists in a vast crater partly broken by earthquakes, formed at the time of the prehistory, and invaded by the sea.
Many eruptions occurred there since its formation. Its volcanic rocks confer on the island its dark red colour and its black pebble beaches.
The main harbour city is Fira, Oia northward is another inhabited centre, known for its windmills and from where one can admire the splendid dust of sun on the Aegean sea.
In addition to tourism, the main economic resource is the invaluable wine (among its, the Vino Santo) and the wool.
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