CHURCH OF THE HOLY VIRGIN
Oia's main church. Pleasant square, pretty facade with bell-wall and gilded wooden iconostasis (1820) from the old church.
This church (Ιερός Ναός της Παναγίας της Πλατσανής/Ieros Naos tis Panagias tis Platsani) is Oia's largest. Located in the main square, it was built in 1965 and takes the name and some elements of the former parish church (15th or 16th century), destroyed by the 1956 earthquake, which was located in the Agios Nikolaos castle. Legend has it that the church got its Platsani epithet from an icon of the Virgin Mary found in the waves below, which, when striking the rocks, made the sound "plats, plats" ("flat, flat"). Like the old church, the current one is dedicated to the Akathistos Hymn: an Orthodox prayer sung "unseated" (akathistos) in honor of the Mother of God. On the outside, the white walls are dominated by a blue drum-mounted dome and four cupolas, while on the left of the façade stands a wall-belfry with six bells. The interior is decorated with modern frescoes. From the old church, however, remain the rich gilded wooden iconostasis dating from 1820, icons and the ex-voto offerings of the Oia sailors who, in the 19th century, sailed as far as the Black Sea to sell Santorini wine in Russia. The square is pleasant. It offers beautiful views over the village and the caldera. Agencies specializing in weddings and honeymoons to Santorini frequently use it for photo shoots. And it's in the nearby Agios Onoufrios church that ceremonies for foreign couples are held.
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de Oia. Vous pouvez la trouver
en haut du village (fort voire trop touristique). Elle a une architecture typique de Santorin avec un dôme bleu et des fenêtres en arc.