Explore Astypalea

Explore one of the most beautiful islands of Dodecanese!

General Information

Astypalea is the westernmost island of the Dodecanese, an archipelago of twelve major islands, located 117NM away from Piraeus, 96NM away from Rhodes and 23NM away from Kos. Astypalea is naturally separated into Mesa Nisi (western part) and Exo Nisi (eastern part). Has 1,334 residents (2011 census).

Chora

Chora is the island’s capital town and port. It is one of the most picturesque towns in the Aegean. On the top of Chora, you will see Chora’s castle towering over the town with the strikingly white domes of Evangelistria and Agios Georgios churches, visible over the walls.

History

According to the mythology Astypalea was a woman abducted by Poseidon in the form of a winged fish-tailed leopard.

On April 12, 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War, a detachment of the Regia Marina landed on Astypalea, which thus became the first island of the Dodecanese to be occupied by Italy. In a September 1943 naval battle near Astypalea, the Greek destroyer Vasilissa Olga together with the British destroyers HMS Faulknor and Eclipse sank a German convoy, consisting of the transports Pluto (2,000 tons) and Paolo (4,000 tons).

The island is known in Italian as Stampalia and in Ottoman Turkish as Istanbulya.

In 1947, through the Treaty of Paris, it became part of Greece along with the rest of the Dodecanese island group.