The safe enjoyment of Pyrgos Kallistis, an historic settlement on Santorini (Greece)

The paper illustrates the preliminary results of an on-going study involving the University of Catania, the National Technical University of Athens, Aristotle University of Thessaloniky and the Polytechnic University of Turin. The main purpose of the study is to develop strategies to manage significant changes in historic settlements generated by the spread of mass tourism. In this framework, the historic settlement of Pyrgos Kallistis - a village on the island of Santorini - has been selected as a case study for its condition, which is characterized at the same time by both abandonment and heavy seasonal touristic flow. The current challenge for Pyrgos is to take advantage of the new economic opportunities offered by tourism, while preserving its historic identity. In this regard, the study aims at defining guidelines for conservation interventions to the historic built environment, in order to promote a proper and sustainable regeneration of the town. The data collected through on-site analysis highlight its historic, architectonical and constructional features. Moreover, the information on its current state allows an understanding of the precarious condition of the most ancient part of the urban fabric: the so-called Kastelli. This area includes some buildings in ruins and the presence of rubble on the roads. This condition is the result of a long period of abandonment following the 1956 earthquake. This paper presents the first proposal of a “securing plan”, which defines the urgent works needed to ensure the safe enjoyment of the Kastelli for visitors and inhabitants. The implementation of the plan will allow the execution of definitive interventions, both public and private. In addition, the time taken to execute the securing plan could also be used to define guidelines for preservation and rehabilitation projects with all the stakeholders.