Experience Santorini with an Exclusive Stay at Historical Villa Santa Croce

greek heritage

heritage walk

Curated & Hosted By

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Location

Santorini

Greece

Duration

4 Days/3 Nights

Price Starts At

TBA

About The Journey

Historical Villa Santa Croce offers a rare way to experience Santorini: the entire historic villa is yours to enjoy exclusively, creating a private retreat whether you are travelling solo, as a couple, with family or with friends. Set in the village of Pyrgos, one of Santorini's oldest settlements, the villa places you away from the bustle of the caldera while keeping you close to the island's history, landscapes and everyday charm. Whitewashed lanes, village squares and centuries-old churches surround the property, offering a glimpse of a quieter Santorini.

During your stay, explore the medieval Kasteli of Emporio, walk through the remarkably preserved Bronze Age city of Akrotiri, sail across the volcanic caldera and end the day with the Santa Croce Sunset Ritual. The postcards below offer a glimpse of the experiences that await, all from the comfort and privacy of your own villa.

Come make Historical Villa Santa Croce your private base for discovering a more intimate side of Santorini. We look forward to welcoming you!

CURATED & HOSTED BY

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Santorini, Greece

Set within the traditional village of Pyrgos, Historic Villa Santa Croce is a restored heritage retreat that brings together centuries of Santorini’s history with contemporary comfort. A member of the Historical Hotels of Europe, the villa preserves architectural details spanning from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, creating an intimate sense of place. Its serene setting, Aegean views and thoughtfully restored interiors offer a private escape from the island’s busier corners. With a cave-style spa, indoor pool, outdoor jacuzzi and spaces designed for slow living, Santa Croce invites guests to experience Santorini through history, privacy and understated elegance.

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STANDARD PRICE

TBA

3 Nights / 4 Days, Double occupancy

The moments that make

this journey

memorable

STAR PARTNER

Santorini, Greece

Walk Through the Ruins of Bronze Age Akrotiri

Greek Heritage Heritage Walk

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Akrotiri was a Bronze Age city on the south of Santorini, evacuated by its inhabitants before the volcanic eruption of around 1620 BC and then buried, intact, under several metres of pumice and ash. Excavation began in 1967 and has uncovered multi-storey buildings, painted frescoes, drainage and plumbing — the unhurried record of a population that knew enough to leave first. You'll walk the site under a bioclimatic roof, on raised platforms that let you read the laneways and the rooms from upper levels. Some archaeologists link Akrotiri’s destruction to Plato’s later writing on the lost Atlantis.

STAR PARTNER

Santorini, Greece

Awaken Your Senses with Santa Croce Sunset Ritual

Sundowner

Historical Villa Santa Croce

At sunset, high above the caldera in Pyrgos, you are invited to slow down and enter a different rhythm of time. A powerful encounter with history, nature, and the present moment, awakening the senses and reconnecting to the essence of Santorini. As the golden light softens over the caldera, you are welcomed onto Santa Croce panoramic terrace for an intimate sensory journey of taste, sound, touch, silence, and mindfulness. And this is only the beginning. When the first notes rise into the evening sky, something unexpected happens.

STAR PARTNER

Santorini, Greece

Walk Through Santorini's Medieval Heart

Heritage Walk

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Pyrgos Kallistis — “the most beautiful” — was the first capital of Santorini and remains the most intact medieval kasteli on the island. Four centuries of Venetian rule left their record in stone: the crossbow vaults overhead in the captain’s houses, the engineered geometry that holds buildings cool in summer and warm in winter, the labyrinthine alleys built to confuse an invader and shelter a community. The walk runs the village’s full vertical — from the castle ruins at the top, down through nine Orthodox churches spanning four centuries, ending in the village square. Enjoy this walk for two hours at a relaxing pace.

STAR PARTNER

Santorini, Greece

Wander Around the Hidden Lanes of Emporio’s Kasteli

Heritage Walk

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Emporio is the other intact kasteli on Santorini alongside Pyrgos, built entirely from volcanic stone in deliberate confusion: alleyways that dead-end, vaulted passages that double back, stairs climbing to balconies that step across to the next house overhead. The design was defensive — the labyrinth meant to disorient invaders while residents moved unseen through the village. Today, it has much the same effect on visitors, who often find themselves pleasantly lost among its winding lanes. You explore the kasteli slowly with a guide, uncovering the stories, architecture, and hidden corners of one of Santorini's most fascinating historic settlements.

STAR PARTNER

Santorini, Greece

Discover Oia’s Maritime Past at Dawn

Castle Visit Greek Heritage

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Oia sits on the northern tip of Santorini, where the caldera cliff drops 120 metres into the sea and the village has become the postcard image of the island. The early hour is the only way to see it clearly. You'll arrive before the coach groups, walk to the ruined Venetian castle at the cliff edge — damaged in the 1956 earthquake and never rebuilt — and stand for a moment in the same spot where wine merchants and shipping captains stood in the nineteenth century, when this end of the island was the centre of Aegean maritime commerce.

STAR PARTNER

Santorini, Greece

Learn About the Woman Behind Oia’s Maritime History

Greek Heritage

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Most of Oia’s preserved captain’s houses belonged to men — nineteenth-century shipping magnates who made their fortunes in the island’s maritime peak. Domus K 1885 belonged to Kadio Sigalas, a woman who built her wealth and her house in an era when that was not supposed to be possible. The interior has been preserved as it was — the rooms, the cellar, the furniture, the records — and a short wine tasting is included in the tour. After the castle ruins on the cliff, the house reframes who built the maritime nineteenth century, and whom the record tends to skip.

STAR PARTNER

Santorini, Greece

Sail Through the Heart of a Volcano

Sunset Cruise

Historical Villa Santa Croce

The Santorini caldera is the partial collapsed remnant of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history — the late Bronze Age explosion that buried Akrotiri and probably tipped Minoan civilisation. From sea level you read the geology in a way the cliff villages cannot show you. The catamaran afternoon runs along the volcanic cliffs to Red Beach, anchors at the islets of Palia and Nea Kameni where geothermal water surfaces into the sea for a swim, then settles on the far side of the volcano for a meal prepared by the crew. You'll return as the villages illuminate above.

DAY-BY-DAY

Your

Itinerary

DAY

WHERE YOU WILL BE

Akrotiri and Historical Villa Santa Croce

Morning

‣

Explore the archaeological site of Akrotiri with a licensed guide.

‣

Walk through the remarkably preserved Bronze Age city, buried beneath volcanic ash since the 17th century BC.

‣

Discover multi-storey buildings, storage rooms and ancient laneways preserved under the site's protective bioclimatic roof.

‣

Learn how Akrotiri connected the Aegean to Minoan Crete, Egypt and Syria, and hear the stories that have linked its destruction to the legend of Atlantis.

Afternoon

‣

Return to Historical Villa Santa Croce and enjoy time to relax in the historic village of Pyrgos.

‣

Take in the panoramic views from the villa's terrace before the evening's signature experience.

Evening

‣

Experience the Mindful Escape Sunset Ritual at Historical Villa Santa Croce.

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As golden light settles over the caldera, enjoy local organic wines and an intimate sensory journey inspired by taste, sound, touch, silence and memory.

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Listen to a master musician bring forgotten Greek instruments back to life through melodies inspired by centuries of Greek musical heritage.

‣

Take part in an immersive experience designed to reconnect you with history through sound and touch.

DON'T MISS

Experience the Sunset Ritual at Historical Villa Santa Croce, where music, storytelling, local wine and Santorini's landscape come together in a unique evening experience.

DAY

WHERE YOU WILL BE

Pyrgos Kallistis and Emporio

Morning

‣

Begin your exploration from Historical Villa Santa Croce with a guided walk through Pyrgos Kallistis, Santorini's former capital and one of the island's five medieval castle settlements.

‣

Wander through the village's cobbled streets and discover its historic churches, captain's houses and Venetian architecture.

‣

Explore the castle ruins and learn about the defensive logic of the medieval settlement.

‣

Continue through a sequence of historic churches spanning centuries of Orthodox life, discovering their distinct architectural and cultural details.

‣

Follow the labyrinthine paths through Pyrgos and learn how the village was designed to protect its community from invaders.

Afternoon

‣

Continue to Emporio, one of Santorini's best-preserved traditional kasteli settlements.

‣

Explore its maze-like network of alleyways, dead-ends, vaulted passages and interconnected houses.

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Discover the village's volcanic-stone architecture and learn about its medieval history.

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Continue towards Exomytis hill to see the traditional windmills overlooking the surrounding landscape.

Evening

‣

Return to Historical Villa Santa Croce and spend the evening at leisure.

‣

Relax on the terrace and take in the quieter atmosphere of Pyrgos.

DON'T MISS

Walk through the winding streets of Emporio, where vaulted passages, volcanic stone houses and medieval architecture reveal another layer of Santorini's history.

DAY

WHERE YOU WILL BE

Oia and the Santorini Caldera

Morning

‣

Begin early with a guided visit to Oia's ruined castle before the crowds arrive.

‣

Explore the remains of the Venetian fortification and take in its dramatic position at the edge of the caldera cliff.

‣

Learn about Oia's role in Santorini's wine commerce and 19th-century maritime history.

‣

Visit Domus K1885, a preserved 19th-century captain's house with the remarkable story of Kadio Sigalas, a female shipping magnate who built her wealth in an era when women rarely held such influence.

‣

Discover the history of the house and gain a different perspective on the people who shaped Santorini's maritime past.

Afternoon

‣

Set sail across the Santorini caldera aboard a catamaran.

‣

Cruise past Red Beach and the volcanic landscapes of the caldera.

‣

Stop at the volcanic islets of Palia and Nea Kameni.

‣

Swim in the hot springs where geothermal waters meet the sea.

‣

Anchor on the far side of the volcano and enjoy a freshly prepared meal on board.

Evening

‣

Sail back across the caldera as the light begins to soften and the villages illuminate above the cliffs.

‣

Return to shore after experiencing Santorini from the water.

DON'T MISS

See Santorini from the water, where the caldera reveals a completely different perspective of the island's dramatic cliffs, volcanic landscapes and whitewashed villages.

DAY

WHERE YOU WILL BE

Historical Villa Santa Croce

Morning

‣

Enjoy your final breakfast at this historic villa, right at the heart of Santa Croce as you prepare for your onward journey.

Afternoon

Evening

Starting Package Price

STANDARD PRICE

TBA

3 Nights / 4 Days, Double occupancy

Inclusions

✓

Pricing is based on double occupancy and the starting room category.

✓

Daily basic housekeeping

✓

Bed linen and bath towels changed twice weekly

✓

Internet access throughout the villa

✓

Use of the heated cave pool (upon request)

✓

Use of the outdoor jacuzzi (upon request)

✓

Access to the villa's fireplace during winter stays

✓

Villa staff maintenance of the swimming pool and jacuzzi

Exclusions

International and domestic flights.

Airport transfers and transportation to/from Historical Villa Santa Croce.

Lunches, dinners (unless specifically mentioned), beverages, and personal expenses.

Travel insurance, visas, gratuities, and expenses of a personal nature.

Any experiences or services not specifically mentioned under the inclusions above.

Ready to experience

Historical Villa Santa Croce?

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