3 More Amazing Ancient Cities of Color
As the second of this series for incredible ancient cities of color, Santorini is widely known for its stunning white architecture with splashes of vibrant blues and various colors for structures built upon volcanic islands, Valparaíso, Chile often called The Jewel of the Pacific is noted for its colorful hillside houses, and Venice, Italy, is considered the most beautiful city in the world by many.
Thera. Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Santorini
Santorini — aka Thera or Thira — is a small, circular archipelago of volcanic islands from what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast from Greece’s mainland. White-washed buildings cling to vertiginous cliffs that plunge to a turquoise sea. Its spectacular beauty and vibrant nightlife have made the area one of Europe’s tourist hotspots with unforgettable vistas.
View across collapsed caldera. Photo Yoo Chong
The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions the planet has ever seen. The Minoan eruption — sometimes called the Thera eruption — occurred some 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization.
The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of feet deep and may have led indirectly to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, 70 miles (110 kilometers) to the south, through the creation of a gigantic tsunami.
Another popular theory holds that the Thera eruption is the source of the legend of Atlantis. In 1967, archaeologists on Santorini unearthed the remains of a Bronze Age city that may have been home to as many as 30,000 people. Whether the Lost Continent of Atlantis is rooted in myth or reality, undisputed fact remains — the eruption created a caldera and one of the most dramatic land and seascapes in the entire Mediterranean.
It’s the most active volcanic centre in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, though what remains today is mainly a water-filled caldera.
Partial panorama of Santorini and Thera caldera. Photo Leonard G
Thira. Photo Adric
Panoramic view of Santorini’s principal city, Fira. Photo Henry Hartley
Forming the southernmost member of the Cyclades Archipelago of islands, Thera is comprised of the Municipality of Thíra and the Community of Oía which includes the offshore island of Therasia that lies to the west. The uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, and Christiani are all also part of the Municipality of Thira, with a total land area of about 56 miles (90 kilometers) in all. Santorini was united with Greece in 1912.
A massive central lagoon about 8 by 4 miles (12 by 7 kilometers) is surrounded by steep cliffs on 3 sides as much as 984 feet (300 meters) high. The island slopes downward from the cliffs to the surrounding Aegean Sea. On the 4th side, the lagoon is separated from the sea by the much smaller island of Therasia. The lagoon merges with the sea in 2 places in the northwest and southwest.
The capital of Fira clings to the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon.
The island’s harbors all lie in the lagoon and there are no ports on the outer perimeter of the island. The water in the center of the lagoon is nearly 400 m (1300 ft) deep, making it a safe harbor for all sorts of shipping.
The island’s pumice quarries have been closed since 1986 in order to preserve the caldera.
The city of Fira. Photo Hans Peter Schaefer
Photo Grosz3city
Satellite image of Santorini. Clockwise from center: Nea Kameni, Palea Kameni,
Aspronisi, Therasia, and Thera. Photo NASA
Santorini has no rivers, and water is scarce. Until the early 1990’s locals filled water cisterns from the rain that fell on roofs and courts, from small springs, and with imported assistance from other areas of Greece. In recent years a desalination plant has provided running, yet non-potable water to most houses.
The island remains the home of a small but flourishing wine industry.
Santorini was given its name by the Latin empire in the 13th century, and is a reference to Saint Irene. Prior to that it was known as Kalliste (”the most beautiful one”), Strongyle (”the circular one”), or Thera.
The town of Oia – a community on the island of Thera, Santorini,
in the Cyclades, Greece. Photo Portum
Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Oia at night. Photo Portum
The Volcanic Eruption
The devastating volcanic eruption of Thera has become the most famous single event in the Aegean before the fall of Troy, and may have been one of the largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in the last several thousand years.
Violent eruption was centered on a small island just north of the existing island of Nea Kameni in the centre of the caldera. The caldera itself was formed several hundred thousand years ago by collapse of the centre of a circular island caused by the emptying of the magma chamber during an eruption. It has been filled several times by ignimbrite since then, and the process repeated itself, most recently 21,000 years ago.
The northern part of the caldera was refilled by the volcano and then collapsed again during the Minoan eruption. Before the Minoan eruption, the caldera formed a nearly continuous ring with the only entrance between the tiny island of Aspronisi and Thera. The eruption destroyed the sections of the ring between Aspronisi and Therasia, and between Therasia and Thera, creating two new channels.
Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Houses built on the edge of the caldera. Photo David Kartsonis
Mansions and hotels on the steep cliffs.
The eruption occurred during the “Late Minoan IA” period at Crete and the “Late Cycladic I” period in the surrounding islands, but the exact date of the eruption is unknown. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the eruption occurred around 1645 to1600 BC. These dates, however, conflict with the usual date range from archaeological evidence, which is between 1550 and 1500 BC.
New archaeological discoveries by a team of international scientists in 2006 revealed that the Santorini event was much more massive than previously thought, expelling 38 cubic miles (61 cubic kilometers) of magma and rock into Earth’s atmosphere. Only the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815 (and possibly the eruption at Lake Taupo of 181 AD) released more material into the atmosphere during the past 5,000 years, at an estimated 62 cubic miles (100 cubic kilometers).
In 1707 an undersea volcano breached the sea surface, forming the current centre of activity at Nea Kameni, and eruptions centered on it continue, the last which occurred in 1950. At some time in the future it will almost certainly erupt violently once again. Although the volcano is at rest at the present time, steam and sulphur are given off at the current active crater.
The Santorini windmills. Photo Savannah Grandfather
Volcanic craters at Nea Kameni, Santorini today. Photo Rolfsteinar
Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici’s 2006 documentary suggests that the eruption of the Santorini Island volcano caused all the biblical plagues described against Egypt, re-dating the eruption to around 1500 BC. The Hyksos, some of them Mycenaean Greek “Hebrews”, fled Egypt which they had ruled for some time after the eruption.
Jacobovici and fellow producer James Cameron claim that the Hyksos were none other than the Israelites, who also may have been known as Habiru. The pharaoh with whom they identify the Pharaoh of the Exodus is Ahmose I. Rather than crossing the Red Sea, Jacobovici argued a marshy area in northern Egypt known as the “Reed Sea” would have been alternately drained and flooded by tsunamis caused by the caldera collapse, and could have been crossed during the exodus.
Minoan Akrotiri
Akrotiri is a major archaeological site, with ruins from the Minoan era. Excavations starting in 1967 at Akrotiri — or “Upper Thira” — under the late Professor Spyridon Marinatos have made Thera the best-known Minoan site outside of Crete, the homeland of the culture. The island was not known as Thera at this time.
Prehistoric Site of Akrotiri. Photo Klearchos P
Photo Lyng883
Photo Lyng883
Only the southern tip of a large town has been uncovered, yet it has revealed complexes of multi-level buildings, streets, and squares with remains of walls standing as high as 26 feet (8 meters), indicating this was a major town, all entombed in the solidified ash of the famous eruption of Thera.
This Bronze Age civilization thrived between 3000 and 2000 BC, and reached its peak in the period 2000 to 1580 BC.
Some of the houses in Akrotiri are major structures as much as 3 stories high. Its streets, squares, and walls were preserved in the layers of ejecta. Many stone staircases in houses are still intact, containing huge ceramic storage jars (pithoi), mills, and pottery. Noted archaeological remains found in Akrotiri are wall paintings or frescoes which have kept their original color well, preserved under many feet of volcanic ash.
Photo Losiek
Santorini’s famous Red Beach. Photo Hartmut Inerle
Busy alley in Santorini. Photo Ton Saint
The town also had a highly developed drainage system, and judging from the fine artwork, its citizens were clearly sophisticated and relatively wealthy people.
Pipes with running water and water closets found at Akrotiri are the oldest such utilities discovered, running in twin systems, indicating that the Therans used both hot and cold water supplies. The origin of the hot water probably was geothermic, given the volcano’s proximity.
The dual pipe system suggesting hot and cold running water, the advanced architecture, and the apparent layout of the Akrotiri find resemble Plato’s description of the legendary lost city of Atlantis, further indicating the Minoans as the culture which primarily inspired the Atlantis legend.
Church in Vothonas, Santorini. Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Fragmentary wall-paintings at Akrotiri lack the religious or mythological content familiar in Classical Greek decor. Minoan frescoes depict “Saffron Gatherers” who offer their crocus-stamens to a seated lady, perhaps a goddess. In another house are 2 antelopes, the famous fresco of a fisherman with his double strings of fish strung by their gills, and the flotilla of pleasure boats, accompanied by leaping dolphins, where ladies take their ease in the shade of canopies, among other frescoes.
The well preserved ruins of the ancient town often are compared to the spectacular ruins at Pompeii in Italy. The site remains closed to visitors while a new canopy is built after the canopy covering the ruins collapsed in September 2005, killing 1 tourist and injuring 7 more.
The oldest signs of human settlement are Late Neolithic (4th millennium BC or earlier), but around 2000 to1650 BC, Akrotiri developed into one of the Aegean’s major Bronze Age ports.
Photo Jonrawlinson
Stairway in Fira, Santorini. Photo Nikos A. Kanellopoulos
Thera. Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Thira. Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Thira. Photo Wolfgang Staudt
Photo Sanderovski
Santorini Island
Valparaiso, Chile
Built upon dozens of steep hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Valparaíso — literally meaning Paradise Valley and called “Valpo” locally — boasts a labyrinth of streets and cobblestone alleyways, embodying a rich architectural and cultural legacy, located in central Chile 74 miles (120 km) to the northwest of the capitol Santiago. The historic quarter of Valparaíso is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, often considered to be one of Latin America’s most intriguing urban areas.
Photo Blue Diego
Immortalized in the words of Pablo Neruda as the “Ocean’s sweetheart,” the city that ‘goes to Paradise’ (”Va al paraíso”) is one of Chile’s — if not South America’s — most charismatic and historic ports, with its charming “ascensores” (funiculars) and colorful hillside houses.
Although Santiago is Chile’s official capital, Valparaiso is a major city that houses the National Congress, where it’s capital of the Region of Valparaíso. In 2003, the Chilean Congress declared Valparaíso to be “Chile’s Cultural Capital” and home for the nation’s new cultural ministry. Although technically only Chile’s 6th largest city, the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area including the neighboring resort city of Vina del Mar is the 2nd largest in the country.
It’s one of the country’s most important seaports and an increasingly vital cultural center in the hemisphere’s Pacific Southwest. Approximately 50 international cruise ships travel through Valparaíso during the 4-month Chilean summer. The port of Valparaíso is also an important hub for shipping of container freight, and exports of wine, copper, and fresh fruit.
Photo Roberto Ruiz
Photo Roberto Ruiz
Photo Roberto Ruiz
Valparaíso played an important geopolitical role in the second half of the 19th century when the city served as a major stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. The city mushroomed during its golden age, when the city was known by international sailors as “Little San Francisco” or “The Jewel of the Pacific.”
Like most of Chile, the city is vulnerable to earthquakes. The last major earthquake to strike Valparaiso devastated the city in 1906, killing nearly 20,000 people.
Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Valparaíso for a major festival on the last 3 days of each year. The festival culminates with a “New Year’s by the Sea” fireworks show, the largest in all of Latin America, attended by a million tourists who fill the coastline and hillsides with a view of the bay.
Photo Roberto Ruiz
Photo Roberto Ruiz
Photo Roberto Ruiz
Nightlife activities in Valparaíso are claimed to be among the best in the country. Sailors favor the harbor sector because of the various traditional bars near Plaza Sotomayor, and University students party at many local nightclubs, bars, and discos.
The city is an important educational centre with 9 universities, home to the so called “School of Valparaíso,” the Faculty of Architecture & Urbanism of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaíso. The School of Valparaiso is one of the most experimental, avant garde and controversial Architectural schools in the country.
Valparaíso has also been the residence of many artists, such as Pablo Neruda and Nicaraguan poet Ruben Darío.
“Fundacion Renzo Pecchenino, LUKAS” maintains the drawings and paintings of the artist / cartoonist who came to symbolize Valparaíso in popular culture, in a newly restored building on Cerro Concepción, overlooking the bay.
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Examples of Valparaíso’s former glory include Latin America’s oldest stock exchange, the continent’s first volunteer fire department, and their newspaper “El Mercurio de Valparaíso” is the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in circulation in the world.
During Valparaíso’s golden age from 1848 to 1914, the city received large numbers of immigrants primarily from Europe, which left a unique imprint on the city’s architecture. Each community built its own churches and schools, while many also founded other noteworthy cultural and economic institutions. The largest immigrant communities came from England, Germany, and Italy, each developing their own hillside neighborhood, preserved today as National Historic Districts or “Zonas Típicas.”
During the second half of the 20th century, Valparaíso experienced a great decline, as wealthy families left the historic quarter for the bustling Santiago or nearby Vina del Mar. By the early 1990’s much of the city’s unique heritage had been lost and many Chileans had given up on the city. But in the mid 1990’s, a grass roots preservation movement blossomed in Valparaíso.
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
In 1996, the World Monuments Fund declared Valparaíso’s unusual system of funicular elevators — highly-inclined cable cars — one of the world’s 100 most endangered historical treasures. In 1998, activists convinced the Chilean government and local authorities to apply for UNESCO world heritage status for Valparaíso.
One such activist group was the “Fundacion Valparaíso” or Valparaíso Foundation, founded by the North American poet Todd Temkin, which executed major neighborhood redevelopment projects to improve the city’s tourist infrastructure, and administers the city’s jazz, ethnic music, and opera festivals among other projects.
Valparaíso was declared a world heritage site in 2003 due to its natural beauty, historical importance, improvised urban design and unique architecture. The official Unesco declaration also places exceptional emphasis on Valparaíso’s unique “intangible heritage,” which includes the city’s ethnic heritage as seen through the traditions and life styles of Valparaíso’s immigrant communities.
Valparaiso elevator Photo Baloo Rch
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
The opening of the Panama Canal and reduction in ship traffic dealt a staggering blow to Valparaíso, though the city has staged an impressive renaissance in recent years.
The golden age of Valparaíso’s commerce ended after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, as most ships sought to avoid the Strait of Magellan, and the port’s importance and use was reduced substantially. Traffic has increased in the last few decades with fruit exports, increasing opening of the Chilean economy to world commerce, and Post-Panamax ships that do not fit the Panama Canal.
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Travel between Valparaíso and Santiago currently takes some 70 minutes on a state-of-the-art toll road.
Valparaíso’s road infrastructure is currently under substantial improvement, particularly with the completion of the “Curauma — Placilla — La Pólvora” freeway bypass, which will allow trucks to go directly to the port facility over a modern highway and through tunnels without driving through the historic and already congested downtown streets.
Roads to link Valparaíso to San Antonio, Chile’s second largest port, and the coastal towns in between — including Laguna Verde, Quintay, Algarrobo, and Isla Negra — are also under various degrees of completion.
A new regional Metro railway system which opened to the public on November 24 2005 updated parts of the railroad that joined Santiago to Valparaíso and cities in between, extending along most of Gran Valparaíso, including an underground section that crosses Vina del Mar’s downtown.
Photo Anna Maj Michelson
Photo la cola de mi perro
Photo la cola de mi perro
Photo la cola de mi perro
Photo la cola de mi perro
Photo Eduardo Andres
Photo la cola de mi perro
Photo Harry Plotter
Photo Naturaleza
Photo Naturaleza
Photo Naturaleza
Photo Annais
Photo Annais
Photo Mordeduras letales
Photo la cola de mi perro
Photo PJ Furlong
Photo PJ Furlong
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Photo A. www.viajar24h.com
Valparaiso, Chile Grand City Tour
Venice, Italy
World-famous for its canals, Venice stretches across an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot. It’s considered by countless to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Photo Magnus Manske
The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The inhabitants include the population of the whole Comune of Venezia, in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico), Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera, and other islands in the lagoon.
Venice and its Lagoon are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is the capital of the region Veneto, and included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area.
Photo Karlakp
Photo iessi
Known by its Italian name Venezia, Venice has also been known as the “La Dominante,” “Serenissima,” “Queen of the Adriatic,” “City of Water,” “City of Bridges,” and “The City of Light.”
Venice is Europe’s largest urban car free area, unique in Europe in remaining a sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars or trucks.
In the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought a railway station to Venice, and an automobile causeway and parking lot was added in the 20th century. Beyond these land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains, as it was in centuries past, entirely on water or on foot.
Photo iessi
Photo Annia 316
Photo iessi
Sestieri
The sestieri are the primary traditional divisions of Venice. The city is divided into the 6 districts of Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including the Giudecca), Santa Croce, San Marco (including San Giorgio Maggiore), and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant’Elena).
At the front of the Gondolas that work in the city there is a large structure of metal created as a likeness of the Doge’s hat. On this sit 6 notches pointing forwards and 1 pointing backwards. Each of these represents one of the Sestieri, and the one that points backwards represents the Giudecca.
Photo iessi
Photo iessi
Photo iesse
Waterways
The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it’s now mostly used for tourists, weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Most Venetians now travel by motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city’s islands.
The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. Visitors can also take the water
taxis between areas of the city. The city also has many private boats.
Photo iessi
Photo iessi
Photo iessi
Transportation
Azienda Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) is the public transport system in Venice which combines both land transportation, with buses, and canal travel, with water buses (vaporetti). There are 25 routes which connect the city in total.
Venice is no place for cars, being built on the water. Cars can reach the car/bus terminal via the bridge (Ponte della Liberta) which comes in from the West from Mestre.
There are only 2 parking lots which serve the city — Tronchetto and Piazzale Roma for which vehicles can be parked 24hrs/7days a week. A ferry leaves from the Tranchetto parking lot to Lido.
Tronchetto is served by vaporetti and buses of the public transportation. Currently, a people mover linking Tronchetto to Piazzale Roma is under construction, but expected time of completion is unknown.
Photo Kieran Lynam
Photo Kieran Lynam
Photo Kieran Lynam
Brief History
While there are no historical records for the origins of Venice, available evidence has led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice comprised refugees from Roman cities such as Padua, Aquileia, Altino and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic invasions.
Venice traded with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world extensively. By the late 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. During this time, Venice’s leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of the greatest and most talented artists.
Photo Kieran Lynam
Photo Kieran Lynam
Photo Kieran Lynam
The Venetian Republic was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce — particularly silk, grain and spice trade — and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century.
After 1797, the city fell into a serious decline, with many of the old palaces and other buildings abandoned and falling into disrepair, although the Lido became a popular beach resort in the late 19th century.
Venice’s long decline started in the 15th century, when it first made an unsuccessful attempt to maintain Thessalonica against the Ottomans between 1423 to1430. She also sent ships to help defend Byzantine Constantinople against the besieging Turks in 1453.
Photo Zingaro
Photo Zingaro
Photo Maurice
After the city fell to Sultan Mehmet II he declared war on Venice. It lasted 30 years and cost Venice much of her eastern Mediterranean possessions. Next, Spain discovered the New World. Then Portugal found a sea route to India, destroying Venice’s land route monopoly. France, England and Holland followed them. Venice’s oared galleys could not traverse the great oceans, and was left behind in the race for colonies.
Photo Zingaro
Photo McPig
Photo lpiepiora
The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575 and 1577. In 3 years the plague killed some 50,000 people. In 1630, the plague killed a third of Venice’s 150,000 citizens.
Photo lpiepiora
Photo lpiepiora
Photo lpiepiora
Venice began to lose its position as a center of international trade during the later part of the Renaissance as Portugal became Europe’s principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice’s great wealth, while France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in the Italian Wars, marginalizing her political influence. However, the Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products, and until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing center.
Photo lpiepiora
Photo lpiepiora
Photo Kainet
After 1070 years, the Republic lost its independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice during the First Coalition on May 12 1797. The French conqueror brought to an end the most fascinating century of its history. It was during the Settecento in the 1700’s that Venice became perhaps the most elegant and refined city in Europe, greatly influencing art, architecture, and literature.
Napoleon was considered as something of a liberator by the city’s Jewish population — he removed the gates of the Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city.
Photo Kainet
Photo Maurice
Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on October 12, 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon’s Kingdom of Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.
In 1848 to1849 a revolt briefly reestablished the Venetian Republic under Daniele Manin. In 1866 following the Seven Weeks War, Venice, along with the rest of Venetia, became part of Italy.
Photo DanielaNob
Photo iessi
Photo Selbst Fotografiert
Photo Jeurgen Kurlvink
Venice, Italy
Source: Wikipedia
Don’t miss the first in this series:
4 Amazing Ancient Cities of Color
I once had the misfortune of being stranded on Santorini for 3 days longer than I was supposed to be there – the ferries could not dock because of the wind. A misfortune only in respect of the excuse I had to give my boss for being late back to work after my holiday. For me it was sheer bliss – it is a a magical place.
I also am a Santorini lover!! Venice gave me the creeps. Fabulous post! Santorini is one of my soul places.
What an excellent presentation of three wonderful places to visit Deborah. Its hard to choose – and of course I would have loved to go all places – but the one I have been dreaming on for long is Venice. I’m going to Milan next month, so maybe
I always wanted to go to Santorini, and I will, one day..
Gorgeous Photographs* Obviously my ancestors settled in the wrong neck of the Woods*
) Peace*
Note to self: Buy Super 7 + 649 + PayDay Lottery Tix*
w/ Encore!!
These are amazing pictures I hope to see more soon. Thanks so much!
Great post and some fantastic pics. I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in both Valparaiso (in the 1980s) and Venice. Santorini is now at the top of my ‘must visit before I die’ places to go. Once again – thanks for such an excellent, well researched post.
Sounds like a wonderful position to be into, Sue, not exactly much of a misfortune
You often hear about fellow employees inventing excuses to extend vacation time, but yours was actually legit 
Well I have never been to Santorini myself, Kuanyin, but oh, how I would love to! I had thought Venice would be a beautiful place to take in as well, but I haven’t been hearing many positive things about it since publishing this.
Thanks Renny
Santorini is at the top of my list. If you do go to Venice, fill me in on your experience. Milan will make for a great holiday 
If you go Dunn, mind tossing me into your spare luggage to ride along
Hey, I hear you Billy
I wonder sometimes why I still live here and suffer through the harsh winter months year in and year out. Keep buying those lotto tickets 
Thanks Tony
Valparaiso appears very intriguing with its diverse cultures.
What an amazing set of pictures – I definitely have to add Santorini on my “to go” list. Thanks for the great post!
These are really lovely places. Thanks for this great post. Now, I learn of two places I’ve never heard of before (Santorini or Valparaiso).
Great pictures but how could you miss Las Vegas?
Santorini definitely my kind of place to enjoy retirement bliss.
Simply heaven.
Arasys, this is but one post in a series. I had never envisioned Las Vegas as a city of color, unless you consider the night lights of the hotels as such. It’s food for thought for the future, thanks
Hey, I’m with you, Betshopboy
Wow, great stuff – makes me want to visit those places.
Deborah, I think Arasys was referring to the 22nd picture of Venice in the article, which was taken outside the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. Santorini looks incredible, I am mesmerised by the shapes and colours.
Thanks Stephen
absolutely gorgeous photos, I was surprised the most about Chile, I had no idea it was so beautiful.
Beautiful indeed, Billy
I have not heard of most of those places, and yet they are stunning. Thank you so much for opening my eyes to more beauty in the world!
These cities look very beautiful, perhaps I travel there in future. I’ve never seen such colorful cities before. Colorful cities make live more beautiful.
Great images and an interesting tour. I had stumbled upon this doing some research on atlantis for a followup article I’m writing. Interesting extra tidbit about the Minoans here. Thank you.
[...] stories: 4 Amazing Ancient Cities of Color 3 More Amazing Ancient Cities of Color Tags:color colors features nature psychology red scienceSHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Natures [...]
Awesome photos. I now would like to visit santorini. Thanks for sharing
You and me both, Jong
Glad you enjoyed it.