HISTORY:In ancient times, the island was called Ophiousa. It has been settled since the Bronze Age. Famed for its marble and stonework Tinos flourished particularly during the 3rd and 2rd century BC. After ifs conquest by the Romans, it sank into obscurity With the fall of Constantinople to the Franks, it passed into Venetian hands until it was occupied by the Turks in 1715. In 1822  a miraculous icon of the Virgin was found on the Island making it ever since the goal of thousands of pilgrims every year. In 1940 the Italians sank the Greek warship Helle in Tinos habrour

SIGHTSEEING: The capital was founded after 1715. its most striking landmark is the Church of the Virgin built in 1823 to house the icon.

There are two museums, one showing the work of Tinian and other modern Greek artists, the other exhibiting archaeological finds. The Monastery  of Agia Triada (1610) contains a collection of folk arts and crafts. The countryside and villages are full of the richly decorated dovecotes for which the island is famous.

Remains of the Venetian castle  and medieval city may be seen at Steni, while near Kardiani are the ruins of a Hellenistic tower The church of Agios Athanasios (1453), one of the odest on  Tinos and the monastery of the Panayia Katapoliani (1786) are in the vicinity of Ysternia.