Steni’s Cultural Significance
Steni is a central village built on the foothills of Tsiknia, the highest mountain on the island. It is a lively village with the largest population. Its Orthodox and Catholic residents have lived together in harmony from olden times. Saint Antonios (Agios Antonios) is the seat of the Orthodox, and Saint Nicholas (Agios Nikolaos) of the Catholics. Both churches are of great interest. Saint Nicholas is a three-aisled basilica, built in 1790 with grey marble, and its style is based on a Venetian design.
On December 6th, a large festival takes place. It is a tradition to whitewash inside and out every church whenever it celebrates the memory of the saint to whom it is dedicated, while women of the village clean up the area around the church, polish the candlestands, and decorate the sanctuary with flowers. After Mass, treats are served in the courtyard. The festival sometimes culminates in the main square with balo and syrto dances to the sounds of musicians playing instruments based on the violin. People celebrating their name day open their homes to the public, having decorated their tables with beautiful dinner sets and white tablecloths. A bounty of local dishes is served with abundant quantities of wine until late in the evening, with offerings of psarakia, meringues, pasteli, and xerotigana along with homemade raki.
Traditional dishes include artichokes cooked in a variety of ways, sun-dried tomatoes with batter, froutalia, savore with molasses, fried fish with petimezi sauce, pork sausages, the saltsisi, and the louza. Cheeses include the famed graviera and the kopanisti. As for sweets, famous are the amygdalota, xerotigana, karidota, pasteli, loukoumi, and various kinds of halva, as well as the renowned thyme honey.
