In Patitiri, the central port of Alonissos, there is the Museum of Alonissos, founded in 2000 by Kostas and Angela Mavrikis. It is housed in a four-story stone building and includes, in addition to various historical relics of the island, weapons and objects used in the past by the pirates of the Aegean.
Alonissos, due to the rocky islands that surround it, was an ideal place for pirate charters. "It was an ideal place for cartiers, with so many islets", says Kostas Mavrikis, owner of the Museum and historian of the island, in an interview. "Until 1910, Psathoura was the border of the Greek state and was very convenient for pirates, who attacked the Turkish-occupied Thessaloniki and found a quick refuge here." In 1538 the well-known Mediterranean corsair and later Turkish admiral Barbarossa destroyed every village and settlement with the result that for almost 100 years the island remained uninhabited. Piracy continued even after the Revolution of 1821 and the area was called Kleptofoleai or Demon Islands. Admiral Miaoulis himself was forced to go to the island in order to limit the activity of the pirates.
In the pirate museum there is a unique collection of objects related to pirates: pirate trombones, handcuffs (for tying slaves in the hold), nail bombs, iron needles (for impaling attacking pirates jumping on deck).
The most original exhibit is an anchor that was used for somersaults!
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou
