Authenticity & Ronia

About Authenticity

In the far away 2004, the main idea was born : “I want to create a job to include all the things that made me come and stay on the island” And this is how the project with personal, interactive activities started, under the name “Patouhia – Sifnos Alternative Activities”. Trekking and Home Cooking were the first two activities introducing a different way of tourism and a different way to approach travelers.

The next step was Sifnos Events. My favourite activities and some more, focus on local culture, but also weddings, baptisms and parties with people from all over the world.

After 15 years of organizing small and big events together with different cultural activities, all in one, 2026 is the year of another change – step forward.

Authenticity is the new home for the cultural activities, a space where I focus on a specific kind of travelers, the ones interested in local culture, every day life and the characteristics that make Sifnos a unique spot on the map together with the ones that show we are a lot more similar to each other than we think.

Food has our attention because of the great Sifnos tradition, with more than one ways/experiences to approach it, pottery is another very special tradition we try to get closer to, dancing as a common Greek habit and not folklore for tourists, trekking because you get to know a place if you walk around it, are some of the ways I have found to talk about local culture, values, stories. I choose to present the island not as a list of “must see – must do” items, but through everyday details and conversation which connects people from all over the world, of different ages, religions and backgrounds, with very different expectations and wishes for their holidays.

Living on Sifnos all year round means that I do not look at the island only through the summer season. Local knowledge – about the weather, the small businesses, the quiet times, the practical limitations – helps me find realistic solutions for each group and suggest ideas that make sense for you and for the island.

For each activity I am the one who plans and usually the one who hosts you. When a boat, a driver, a potter or another specialist is needed, I work with a small circle of professionals selected because they know the island deeply and respect its rhythm. One of us is always close at hand to answer questions and solve anything that might come up.

Almost forgot!! “Sifnos Events” continues its creative way but now focuses on microweddings and elopements, reunios and family gatherings, seminars, cultural and educational events.

About me – Ronia Anastasiadou

My story

Born and brought up in Athens, I always wanted to be a journalist and I was lucky enough to study it and work from a young age in newspapers and on the radio. It was great, but I could not stand the hustle and bustle of city life forever. So, in 1994 I quit my beloved job, totally changed my life and moved to Sifnos.

My mother comes from the island. I had spent all the Easters and summers of my life here and this was where I felt I could find what I called “real life”. For about ten years I kept changing jobs – from waitress to travel agent and from English teacher to bank clerk. At the same time, I learned a lot about folk dancing, traditional cooking, home-made herbal medicine, trails, religious habits and customs, and I realised that there is always a reason behind everything people do.

In 2004 I decided to start my own work, together with further training in guiding and heritage interpretation, certifications, seminars and programmes in order to get the qualifications I needed. And I am still learning and updating my knowledge after more than twenty years in this job because for me this is the way to keep yourself interested and curious.

Since the beginning, I have been grateful to work for the happy moments in people’s lives, trying to make them meaningful and memorable. I truly believe that happiness, living conditions and quality in our life are more in our hands than we usually think.

The way I see things...

Cultural and Natural Heritage is all around us. It is on the dry stone walls and the buildings, the plants and the land, the way people behave towards each other, the relationship with time and weather, the effect of the sea and the water around us.

Cultural and natural heritage is on an old wooden gate and on the dovecotes, it is inside the Sunday chickpea soup and close to an ancient tower, it is in songs and dances and religious celebrations and also in myths, legends and stories.

Sifnos – like all islands – is not just sea and sun. It is not just the “must see” and “must do” list you need in order to “tick” the island. It is not enough to hear about history, monuments, names and dates. The awarded archaeological site of the island is more interesting if it is connected to the ancient towers and their communication system, the protected NATURA area, the characteristics we share with our ancient ancestors, and Christianity with its churches often built on the same spots as the temples of the 12 ancient gods.

A trekking tour is even better when you can recognise, smell and touch the wise medicinal herbs, when you hear the bells of sheep and the stories about these bells and these animals, when you discover how creative people were before technology and how they managed to live in the environment and not only from the environment.

You get to know a place if you meet locals in their everyday life, if you see how a home is, if you hear the small stories that build History, if you taste local food and drinks, if you try to feel the local pace and the reasons behind it, if you listen to the sounds of nature, if you feel the island with all your senses.

Interpretation of Natural and Cultural Heritage is the technique and the idea behind the philosophy of Authenticity (and Sifnos Events). It is the best way I have found to make you love my island and to hear you promise that you will come again.

Looking forward to introducing you to the islanders’ way!

Ronia Anastasiadou