Spetses Σπέτσες | |
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 Flag | |
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  Spetses | |
| Coordinates:37°15′27″N23°08′24″E / 37.25750°N 23.14000°E /37.25750; 23.14000 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Attica |
| Regional unit | Islands |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Evgenia Frangia[1] (since 2023) |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 27.121 km2 (10.471 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Municipality | 3,748 |
| • Density | 138.2/km2 (357.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 180 50 |
| Area code | 22980 |
| Vehicle registration | Z |
| Website | spetses.gov.gr |
Spetses (Greek:Σπέτσες,Ancient Greek:Πιτυοῦσσα "Pityussa") is an island inAttica,Greece.[3] It is counted among theSaronic Islands group. Until 1948, it was part of theArgolis and Corinthia Prefecture, which is now split intoArgolis andCorinthia. In ancient times, it was known as Pityussa.
The island is now an independentmunicipality, with no internal boundaries within the municipality. The town ofSpetses is the only large settlement on the island. The other settlements on the island are Moní Ayíon Pánton, Ligonéri, Ágioi Anárgyroi, Kouzoúnos. Also part of the Municipality of Spetses are the islands ofSpetsopoula,Falkonera, andVelopoula (all uninhabited). The municipality has an area of 27.121 km2.[4]
An unusual aspect of Spetses is that no private automobiles are allowed within the town limits. The most common modes of transport are walking, horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles. Only taxis and delivery vehicles are allowed in the downtown area. Ferries and high-speedhydrofoils arrive regularly from the Athenian port ofPiraeus.
Trails encircle the island and total about 25 to 30 km. Beaches closest to the town of Spetses include Ayios Mamas in the town centre; and Kaíki (previously College) beach 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) to the northwest and Ayia Marina 2 kilometres (1 mile) to the south, both of which offer water-sports. Public buses serve beaches further outside town, including Zogeria, Ayioi Anaryiroi, and Ayia Paraskevi.
The name of the island derives from theMedieval andModern Greek noun σπέτσες,spétses'spices, herbs', which in turn derives from theItalian andVenetianspezie'spices'.[5] The Ancient Greek name for the island Πιτυοῦσσα describes its forested nature 'abounding in pine trees'.[6]
The island of Spetses, located in theMediterranean Sea, was first occupied during theMesolithic Age, in around 8000 BC. During that period theisland was connected by an isthmus to the mainland of Argolida, at the point now named Kosta. Pieces of flint from that time were found near the part of the island named Zogeria, containing a water source probably available since the same period. Other archaeological finds were located in the area of Saint Marina, the site of the first Hellenic settlement to be found on the island, dating to the 3rd millennium BC. At least three natural harbours of Spetses (Saint Marina, Saint Paraskevi, and Zogeria) served as a refuge for ships carrying goods to and from the Argolis Gulf during the peak of theState of Lerna (about 2300 BC).
After the collapse of the State of Lerna, Spetses suffered a period of decline. Artefacts in the areas of Saint Marina and Saint Anargyroi are characteristic of the existing settlements belonging the lateMycenaean period; the 12th to 13th century BC. At the time of thePeloponnesian War, stone observatories were built at the sites of Prophet Elias and Zogeria.
Mention of the island of Spetses was made both byStrabo in the 1st century BC andPausanias in the 2nd century AD, referring to the island as Pitiousa. The raid by theGoths in the Eastern Roman empire caused a wave of refugees to flee to Spetses, resulting in the re-settlement of the island. They were concentrated in the Old Port, which became one of the three largest cities of Argolis (including Argos and Hermione).
In the 15th century, theVenetians, who had ruled the island since 1220, named itSpezia ("Spice") for its position on a major traderoute that dealt in spices. Over time the name was Hellenised toSpetsai (Spetse/Spetses).
During the 18th century, after the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Ottomans and the Venetian expulsion, manyArvanites took refuge in Spetses in order to escape Ottoman persecution. These refugees created the old village of Spetses, in the area of Kastelli; it is fortified by a wall that reinforces the natural protection provided by the terrain. Over the years the island developed a significant naval power. The Greek Coalition[clarification needed], in cooperation with the Russians in theRusso-Turkish War of 1768–1774, turned the powerful merchant fleet of Spetses to a significant power against theOttoman Empire during the so-calledOrlov Revolt, also known as theOrlofika. In response to these events, in 1770 the Turks destroyed the only village on the island.
For some years after the destruction of the village, the island was deserted. It was re-occupied in 1774 by new settlers from the opposite coast of the Peloponnese after theTreaty of Küçük Kaynarca. This allowed the Russians free movement of ships in the Mediterranean. A powerful commercial fleet was recreated by using the Russian flag to establish trade routes with neighbouring countries. Merchant seafaring was the only source of livelihood for men of many of the rocky, non-arable Greek islands, and the brisk Mediterranean and Black Sea trade of the 18th and 19th centuries allowed them to prosper. They did especially and spectacularly so during thetrade embargoes that were imposed during theNapoleonic Wars; Greek merchantmen and crews were willing and able to work with, or against, both belligerent sides at tremendous profit.
After the re-occupation of Spetses, the settlement began to expand beyond the Kastelli region. This growth stimulated a corresponding increase in the maritime economic activities of the island.
An Arvanite community still inhabits the island.[7]
From 1821, the island played an important role in theGreek War of Independence, and it was the home of celebrated war heroineLaskarina Bouboulina. Her life sized statue can be seen in the main dock. Spetses was the first of the Greek islands to raise the flag of Revolution on the morning of 3 April (O.S.) 1821. Its fleet, consisting of merchant ships, played a key role in the struggle, both by participating in raids against the Turkish coast and the siege of fortresses in the Peloponnese. Particularly important is the involvement of the Spetsiote fleet in sieges of the fortresses of Nafplion andMonemvasia and naval battles of Samos (1824) and Kafireas (1825). Along with their counterparts in nearbyHydra, Spetsiote captains were so wealthy they had been hoarding their gold in wells, a wealth that they tapped to fund the war of liberation.
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Several ships have been named after the island, including modernHydra class frigateF 453 Spetsai, the World War 2-eraGreek destroyer Spetsai (D83), and the historicGreek battleshipSpetsai.
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ThePoseidonion Hotel was built by Sotirios Anargyros, descendant of a great 18th-century Spetsiot shipping family. His branch of the family had fallen on hard times, and he emigrated to the United States as a young man in 1868, when Spetses was declining as a maritime center. In 1899 he returned from the US, now a wealthytobacco tycoon and started to transform the island of his youth. He built a mansion and met with rich Athenians who visited Spetses from August to October, in order to hunt the turtledoves and quail migrating between Africa and Europe. Anagyros had pine seedlings planted in the hills. In the early 21st century, the island is one of the most wooded in the southern Aegean.
He saw the need for a comfortable hotel and built the Poseidonion in the style of its French Mediterranean models, the Carlton inCannes (1911) and the Negresco inNice (1912). The hunters could bring along their wives and children to enjoy the comfort of the hotel, the spa, donkey rides, dancing to the orchestra in the evening, and mixed bathing on the beaches across the channel. The Poseidonion rapidly became the favorite vacation spot for high society, royalty, and the rich Athenians who came to enjoy a small slice of the grand life.[8]
In the 1960s and 1970s, the island attracted a number of wealthy Greek vacationers fromAthens and elsewhere, who owned second villas or lived on their large yachts in the port. Some had children who became students of the Anargirios School. Although some hotels had been constructed, tourists often stayed in purpose-built holiday homes. From the 1980s, the Greek vacationers were often supplanted by north European tourists, especially fromBritain, who were attracted by the low cost of a holiday.
Package tours to Spetses declined and eventually ceased during the 1990s. In the early 21st century, the island's holiday clientele is of a higher economic class and largely Greek.[9]
The main Athenian tourist season lasts for only two months of the year, although most hotels and restaurants are open from Easter until October.[citation needed] Efforts are being made by officials to extend the season, by adding major events to attract visitors:
In the early 21st century, there was a distinct shift away from package tourism on Spetses and the island once again became fashionable among wealthier Greeks.[citation needed] Nowadays, the majority of visitors are Greek or independent travellers from around the world. Whilst it is still possible to find traditional lower cost rooms to rent and tavernas to eat in on the island there are now many higher priced restaurants and 'boutique' hotels around the town.
On 8 September (O.S.) 1822 the Ottoman fleet, coming from Monemvasia, endeavoured to supply the town ofNafplion, which was at the time besieged by Greek forces since the spring of 1821. Sailing between Trikeri and Spetsopoula, the Turkish force confronted the combined fleets of the three nautical islands, Spetses,Hydra andPsara. The admiral of the Greekfleet,Andreas Miaoulis, gave orders to withdraw to the Gulf of Argolis, in order to outmanoeuvre the more numerous and powerful Ottoman fleet.
According to general descriptions, the battle consisted in distant and ineffectual cannonade between the two fleets.[11] An Algerianbrig was damaged by fire, having boarded by mistake a Greek fireship.
According to Spetsiot local historian Anastasios Orlandos, however, the retreat of the Ottoman fleet was the result of an attack by the fireship ofKosmas Barbatsis (1792–1887) against the Ottoman flagship. The latter fled to avoid it, followed by the other Ottoman ships.[12] The besieged castles of Nafplion could not be relieved, and fell to the Greeks two and a half months later.
Each year, the second weekend of September is dedicated to celebratory events aimed at commemorating the events of the battle of 8 September 1822, in combination with the feast of the chapel ofPanagiá Armáta (the Madonna-in-arms), near the lighthouse. The events culminate with a fictionalized re-enactment of the battle, including the torching of the Turkish flagship in the harbour, an incident not mentioned in historical depictions of the battle.
Spetses is one of nine European cities that participates in the European Network of Historical Reconstructions (Brussels, Belgium; Dublin and Cork, Ireland; Bailen, Spain; Slavkov, Czech Republic; Tewkesbury, UK; and Hydra and Spetses in Greece).[citation needed]
Spetses was the basis for the island of Phraxos inJohn Fowles' 1965 novelThe Magus. Many locations described in the book actually existed, including the "Lord Byron School" (the private Anargyrios and Korgialenios School of Spetses) and the "Villa Bourani" (located on the south side of the island above a popular public beach). Both the school and villa still exist, although the house is under private ownership. Fowles himself taught English at the school between the years 1951 and 1953.
Spetses is the setting of Richard H. White's 2013 novelMiro's Knot. The book describes real locations on Spetses in extensive detail, with a portion of the book set onSpetsopoula. As of 2024,Miro's Knot is in development to be adapted into a feature film.[13][14]
Spetses is also the basis for Catherine Lind’s 2014 novelUnexpected Journeys. Both the apartment hotel and the tavern described exist on Spetses, though under different names. All the other locations described in the book are also actual, many under their real names. The tavern sits at the corner of the old harbour, while the hotel resides just above the small pebbled beach at the end of the new harbour. In the book, one of the main characters tells the island's history through the memories of his grandparents, and the novel's historical descriptions are fairly accurate, amongst other things recounting the story of Laskarina Bouboulina.
Maggie Gyllenhaal's 2021 dramaThe Lost Daughter andRian Johnson's 2022 mystery-comedyGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery were shot on Spetses.[15]
| Year | Population | Municipal/Island population |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 3,729 | – |
| 1991 | 3,509 | 3,603 |
| 2001 | 3,846 | 3,916 |
| 2011 | 4,001 | 4,027 |
| 2021 | 3,661 | 3,748 |
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)Administrative divisions of theAttica Region | ||
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| Regional unit ofCentral Athens |  | |
| Regional unit ofNorth Athens | ||
| Regional unit ofWest Athens | ||
| Regional unit ofSouth Athens | ||
| Regional unit ofPiraeus | ||
| Regional unit ofEast Attica | ||
| Regional unit ofWest Attica | ||
| Regional unit ofIslands | ||
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| Adriatic Sea |
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| Ionian Islands and dependencies |
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| Mainland Greece |
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| Aegean Islands |
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