According to an old tradition the settlement of Summer in Kythera was created by the Vlandides, a Byzantine family of Crete who, when they came to Kythera, first settled in the location of Lahnos, near Limnaria, the bay of Myrtidia, on the western coast of Kythera.
Because this location was in danger from pirates, who very often landed on the western coast of Kythera, they moved higher around the 17th century and created the settlement of Kalokairines, which probably owes its name to its climate, which is pleasant during the summer months.
However, the name Kalokairines is mentioned in 1583 in a document of Venetian officials, which is preserved in the archives of Kythera. Out of fear of pirates, the Vlandites built their houses as small forts with high outer walls and inner courtyards.
The settlement has a particular architectural style with two-storey houses without internal communication. The entrance to the floor is through a narrow staircase that ends in a small staircase. The ground floors are auxiliary areas with walkways, baker's huts, shelters, wine presses, barns, while the dwelling is on the first floor. A wonderful morphological element in Kalokairines, very common in Kythera, are the Venetian stone flowerbeds, usually under the windows and the bocchios, held up by stone furrows.
