40 white little picturesque villages, more than 700 churches and monasteries, immaculate dovecotes and beautiful sandy and pebble beaches are the elements that create the wonderful island of Tinos.
Still unknown by the majority of foreign tourists, Tinos mostly attracts Greek pilgrims travelling there to see and touch the miraculous healing icon of the Virgin Mary, that was found in 1822.
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The believers take part in the two annual religious pilgrimages, on March 25 and August 15, |
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when the miraculous icon is carried down the harbour over the heads of the faithful.
The pilgrimage in Tinos is equivalent, at a smaller scale, to the one of Lourdes, in France: thousands of Greeks Orthodox believers walk on their knees from the harbour to the church of Panagia Evangelistra to ask for the protection and favours of the Virgin.
Tinos is the most important Orthodox place of worship, but in the same time an important Catholic centre; this mixture of religions, most rare in Greece, gives to the island a particular and unique character.
The amazing Tinos is not only the island of religious faith but also the island of art: some of the most important Greek artists were born there such as the painters Nikephoros Lytras and Nikolaos Gyzis; sculptors such as Phlilippotis, Voulgaris and Yannoulis Chalepas, the |
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Pheidias of Modern Greece, perpetuate the island tradition in marble-carving until today.
Tinos is a very interesting place to visit.
One can enjoy its unspoiled architecture, its picturesque villages, its beautiful beaches and its traditional culture and way of living that is still present.
Tinos is the ideal place for lovers of nature, architecture, art and traditions, and really the perfect answer to these expectations.
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