Ceramics have a long history on Santorini, stretching back to the sophisticated pottery unearthed at the Bronze-Age site of Akrotiri — decorated vessels that are now among the highlights of the Museum of Prehistoric Thera (see our museums guide). That craft tradition, in a very different, more contemporary form, continues on the island today.
What's made today
A number of working potters and ceramic studios operate on the island, many producing both traditional Cycladic-style glazed pieces and more contemporary work aimed at visitors — plates, bowls and decorative pieces often incorporating the island's characteristic blue-and-white palette or volcanic-toned glazes.
Where to find genuine local work
As with the jewellery and craft shopping covered in our shopping guide, working studios — where you can sometimes see pieces actually being made — are a more reliable source of genuinely local ceramics than souvenir shops on the busiest tourist streets, where imported pieces are common.
Worth knowing before you buy
Hand-thrown, individually made pieces will show natural variation — slightly different glaze tones or minor asymmetry between "matching" pieces is normal for genuine handmade ceramics, not a flaw, and is one practical way to distinguish them from mass-produced imports.
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