eng
Nestled in the picturesque medieval village of Pyrgos on the island of Santorini, the three storey imposing Anemoscope Windmill gazes in admiration at the Aegean Sea, the villages and Santorini’s famous Caldera.
Anemoscope Windmill has a remarkable story: it was one of the five unique windmills of Pyrgos. The official name of the Windmill was “Pera Mylos”, it was built early 1700 and operated for more than two centuries, located at an ideal location on the island which helped producing goods under all weather conditions.
The Windmill stopped operating after the strong earthquake of 1956. An esteemed greek local family preserved the Windmill after the earthquake, took the initiative to fully renovate it and create a unique lodging place, worth of experiencing. It was restored from the ancient ruins, using the original stones and following particular construction restrictions due to the declared traditional settlement.
Internally some of the furniture of the villa are either handmade or genuine items found and kept from the past, which now belong to the heritage of the windmill.
In Santorini there were 78 windmills (Dekigalas Joseph 1850, 85). For four centuries Santorini, grind wheat or barley to make a living, with the windmills, which was at that time a heavy industry. Windmills belonged to the nobles and some parish churches, which rented them to experienced millers.
The millers had several capacities. They were using manual force, they knew from sailors’ knots to tie ropes and sails. They also had a lot of knowledge of meteorology to predict changes in the weather. Many millers were also bakers.
