The objective of the overall project concept is to commercially develop and promote abandoned and ruinous settlements by establishing unique, restored, traditional housing areas. Based on meticulous fieldwork as well as research and analysis, only a specific number of settlements that fulfilled the basic selection requirements were initially chosen. A re-assessment of these preselected areas/settlements followed, with stricter selection criteria: such as topology, geography, climate, history, tradition, folklore, art, accessibility, construction parameters, marketability, view, distance from the beach and other points of interest. The outcome of that second analysis stage resulted in a shortlist of sites that formed the core for a detailed business concept presenting a new land and tourism development plan for Greece. This concept can be applied as a prototype for the tourist development of the wider Aegean region and specifically, small and medium-sized islands with a rich historical and cultural background. 

Monastiria is one of the oldest villages in Tinos. The ruinous village is surrounded by a truly exceptional landscape of amphitheatric terrain, evoking images of the ancient Greek theater. The settlement, which dates back to the 14th-15th centuries, stands out as a unique example of the traditional island architecture. Unfortunately, in the 1960s inhabitants started to desert the settlement as a result of the harsh living conditions of the region.

Today, the village, which is nestled in the midst of this stunning scenery, is made up entirely of abandoned ruinous stone-built houses. It offers an extraordinary ambience of serene solitude that reminds one of an open-air museum. This completely abandoned village in a unique landscape has a pervasive and individual character. “Monastiria” is the Greek work for monasteries. Tradition has it that in past times, monks and nuns lived in a monastery, which no longer exists, leading cloistered lives of seclusion in their tiny stone cells in the midst of these stark yet tranquil surroundings, engaged in silkworm cultivation...

The village Monastiria is located in the centre of the island at an equal distance from both the northern and the southern coastlines of Tinos, 9.5 km from Tinos-Town and the harbour. Due to its location, the village offers the visitor an unhindered wide open, breathtaking view not only of the settlements Smardakito, Perastra, Komi, Kalloni, Aetofolia, Kato Kleisma but also of the island’s broad and fertile plains which are extensively cultivated. There is also an unobstructed, panoramic view from Monastiria towards the harsh uncultivated Tinian countryside - an immense patchwork quilt of fields and terraces broken up by intricately fashioned walls made of different types of stone and rock. These simple but highly picturesque and distinctive structures were built by the forebears of the village with relentless effort, hardship and persistence over the centuries. During those past times most of the island’s land was under extensive cultivation.

In this unique landscape, the traveller enjoys the beauty and tranquillity of nature in all her splendour. While taking a walk, he also takes delight in observing various highly attractive structures and buildings, such as stone walls, dovecotes, barns, windmills and chapels. Just 5.5 km from the Venetian castle of Exombourgo, the chief landmark of Tinos, stand the imposing yet timeworn and battered houses of Monastiria. They stand against the forces of wind, weather and the passage of the centuries, waiting for a salutary initiative to bring them back to life.