St George's Cathedral

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Proudly capping the medieval hilltop settlement of Ano Syros, this pretty cathedral is the mother church of the Cyclades' significant Roman Catholic minority. Call in to admire the pastel-hued interior and star-fretted barrel roof.

Built in the 1830s, it's the fifth church to stand on this site. The Byzantines built the first in around the 8th century, and the Venetians planted a Catholic cathedral here in 1207. In 1617, the Ottomans burnt it to the ground, hanging the bishop while they were at it. The oldest part of the existing structure is the bare-stone-walled baptistery, off the nave, dating from its 1705 incarnation.

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