Ano Syros is the older of the two hills above Ermoupoli, and the Catholic settlement, founded under Venetian rule - a knot of stepped lanes climbing to the cathedral of Saint George.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
Syros keeps one of the few substantial Catholic populations in Greece, and this is where it lives.
The skyline is the history
Two hills stand above Ermoupoli, each crowned by a church, and they belong to different faiths.
Ano Syros is the Catholic one. Vrontado, opposite, is the Orthodox hill, topped by the church of the Resurrection.
The skyline is the island’s clearest history lesson: you can read the arrangement from the harbour before you have walked anywhere.
Walking up it
Walking up Ano Syros is the best hour on the island: no cars, steps and lanes that were laid out long before anything below them.
That “no cars” is practical rather than atmospheric - it is a stepped settlement, so the visit is on foot from wherever you leave the car, and the shoes matter more than the timing.
What is below it
Ermoupoli is the administrative capital of the Cyclades and a working neoclassical city rather than a whitewashed village built for the view - which is the reason to come to Syros at all.
Its centre is Miaouli Square, a broad marble plaza with the town hall on one side, palm trees, and cafes that fill with locals rather than tour groups. Behind it is the Apollon Theatre, and the port still has working shipyards.
Why the two-hill arrangement exists at all
We describe what is there rather than narrating why. Our own guide states the facts - the Catholic settlement founded under Venetian rule, the Orthodox hill opposite, and a Catholic population that is unusual in Greece - and does not offer a history of how the two communities came to share one skyline.
Neither does this page. It is a genuinely interesting question and it is not one a travel page should answer from memory.
Practical notes
Getting there: on foot and uphill from Ermoupoli, which is the point of it.
Athens to Syros covers the crossing - two to four hours to a very different island.
We print no cathedral opening hours. It is an active church.
Common questions
Why is there a Catholic settlement on a Greek island? Ano Syros was founded under Venetian rule, and Syros keeps one of the few substantial Catholic populations in Greece. The longer history is not something our sources set out, and we do not invent it.
Can I drive up? It is a stepped settlement. Walk.
Which hill is which? Ano Syros is the Catholic one, with the cathedral of Saint George. Vrontado opposite is Orthodox, topped by the church of the Resurrection.
Next
Our Syros guide has the practicalities, Ermoupoli covers the city below, and things to do in Syros covers the island.