Senses of Place, Senses of Past: The Case of Antikythera and its Castle, Greece

This article explores local perceptions towards an archaeological site on the Greek island of Antikythera, known as ‘Castle’, within the context of recent calls for the development of the island through heritage tourism. As the identification of such perceptions is a fundamental step in tourism planning we will reflect on data gathered during an ethnographic study funded by the post-doctoral scheme of the Greek State Scholarship Foundation. Our purpose was to examine how local perceptions of the island and its landscape, as a whole, define the ways in which the archaeological ‘Castle’ of Antikythera is perceived. We observed that positive or negative attitudes towards the archaeology of the island are strongly interlinked with positive or negative feelings for the island in general. Since most studies focus on the role of heritage in shaping a sense of place, we hope that this article will offer a new insight into the role of place in shaping heritage perceptions. We also hope that the findings of the research will inform future decisions on tourism development and its impact (potential risks or opportunities) on the sense of place. View Full-Tex