VIVLOS (TRIPODES): THE VILLAGE OF THE THREE WINDMILLS

Take the road south-west from Chora toward the beaches of Plaka, and just where the island begins to flatten into farmland, three white windmills appear on a small hill at the entrance to a village. That village is Vivlos, officially and on older maps Tripodes, one of the largest settlements in south-western Naxos and, with a population of 782 at the 2021 census (older sources say “more than 800”), one of its liveliest. It lies about 8 to 9 kilometres from Chora at roughly 130 metres of elevation, within easy reach of Plaka beach, and its slate-paved lanes, 16th-century church and ancient surroundings make it an easy and rewarding stop for anyone staying near the town or on the south-western coast.

One Village, Two Names

The double name causes some confusion. Most references, including Wikipedia, use Tripodes; the official name of the community is Vivlos, and local sources note that all the road signs say only Vivlos. They are the same place, which is why this guide uses both. The village is also grouped with the settlements around the Livadi plain known as the Livadochoria, though sources differ slightly on exactly which villages are counted. It is a working village with a primary school, cafes, traditional tavernas, a bakery and a few hotels, and its economy rests on the fertile Plaka plain below it, where the famous Naxos potatoes, other vegetables, barley and vines are grown, alongside cattle farming that reportedly supplies much of the island’s milk and beef.

The Windmills of Vivlos

The windmills are the village’s signature. The three traditional mills on the hill at the entrance were built in the 19th century, as were the Skarkos mill and several ruined mills at Stroumpoulas, and they are typical Cycladic structures: cylindrical, two-storey towers in which the millstones and the transmission mechanism occupied the upper floor, while the ground floor served as storage. Canvas sails more than five metres long once caught the wind to grind the wheat of the plain. They are in need of repair and are not open to visitors, but they make a fine landmark. The best view of the whole scene, according to local guides, is from the hill of the chapel of Agios Nektarios, looking back across the village toward the mills, with the sea and the island of Paros behind.

Panagia Tripodiotissa and the Village’s Churches

The first building most visitors notice is the large church of Panagia Tripodiotissa, the village’s patron, standing beside the road at the entrance. It is described as a 16th-century monastery that was once among the richest male monasteries on the island, and local tradition says that the Virgin herself indicated where she wished the church to be built. The village celebrates her on 23 August, when people come from across the community for the feast. Vivlos is also known for its small country churches, around forty by one count, scattered through the surrounding fields; one of them, the chapel of Agios Matthaios, is built on the ruins of an ancient temple, a common pattern in the Cyclades. A chapel feast on 14 September is also recorded in the village’s tourism information. Archaeological references additionally note the scant remains of an Early Christian basilica near the village, with a few columns and traces of mosaic.

Plaka Tower and an Older Settlement

The land around Vivlos is older than the village. About two kilometres outside it, at the foot of Stroumpoulas hill on the road to Plaka, stand the remains of Plaka Tower, also called Paleopyrgos (“old tower”) or Ariadne’s Tower. What survives is a set of huge foundation boulders, each about two metres by half a metre, and a section of northern wall with a window, a bastion and stone steps. It was most likely an observation post that warned of approaching pirate ships with smoke signals, and it commands a wide view over much of the south-west coast. Its date is not settled: one tourism source calls it Mycenaean, while another reference gives the Hellenistic period or earlier, so it is safest to say that it is ancient and of uncertain date. Access is by a farm road to the chapel of Agia Kyriaki and then a footpath; it is easy to miss, not suitable for wheelchairs, and best found with a local map.

Together with the temple-based chapel of Agios Matthaios, the tower has led some to suggest that the village was originally settled nearer the sea at Plaka and moved inland when pirate raids made the coast unsafe, a tradition that appears across the island. The ruins of two other towers lie to the west, near the area known as Kechries: the tower of Ga, said to have been the summer residence of a Naxian notary named Ioannis Ga, and the tower of Agios Georgios, built like an eagle’s nest on a precipice and apparently meant to protect it.

The Folklore Museum

The village has a small Folklore Museum, housed in a restored olive mill, which is the best place to understand how the plain, the mills and the presses once worked together. Opening times for small village museums change from season to season, so ask locally before planning a visit around it.

Visiting Vivlos Today

Vivlos is on the main road toward the south-west beaches, about 15 minutes by car from Chora, and there are parking areas at several points in the village; a bus line from Chora is reported to serve it, but check the seasonal timetable. The streets are narrow, so park and walk. Allow about an hour for the lanes, the church and the mill hill, and add a couple of hours if you want to find Plaka Tower on foot. The light is best in the late afternoon, when the windmills catch the sun against the sea. It is a living village rather than a staged one, so keep to the public lanes and respect private yards.

Nearby: Plaka, Glinado and the Town

Plaka beach is a short drive away, and the surrounding area holds some of the island’s most significant ancient sites, notably the sanctuary of Dionysus at Yria, which we describe in our guide to Glinado. The neighbouring village of Galanado, with its Venetian tower, is only a few kilometres away, and Chora, with the Portara and the Old Market, is described in our guide to Naxos Town. For the mountains, continue to Filoti and Apeiranthos.

Vivlos is one of those places that rewards a short detour. It has no single great monument, but it has three windmills on a hill, a large old church, a good many chapels, an ancient tower on a hillside and a plain that still feeds the island. It makes a perfect first or last stop of the day, before or after the beach.