Wender·Vista
Salamis Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGreece
in the Saronic Gulf, across a narrow strait from Piraeus

Salamis Island

— — the strait that turned a war.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Salamis lies in the Saronic Gulf, two kilometres of water from the mainland and a fifteen-minute ferry from the port of Perama. In late September of 480 BC the Greek fleet under Themistocles drew the Persian navy into the narrows here and broke it; Xerxes watched from a throne on the slopes of Mount Aigaleo. The island today is more workaday than mythic — shipyards, summer houses, the small port of Salamina town — but the strait is the same strait, and the light on it some afternoons is the same light. from the studio

from the studio
Salamis Island
— bring it home

Salamis Island, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Salamis Island

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Salamis — Salamina in modern Greek — is the largest island in the Saronic Gulf, lying just off the western coast of Attica, separated from the mainland by a strait less than two kilometres wide at its narrowest. The island covers about 95 square kilometres and is home to roughly 39,000 permanent residents, most of them in the town of Salamina on the eastern shore. Administratively it belongs to the Islands regional unit of Attica. It is reached in fifteen minutes by car ferry from the small port of Perama, just west of Piraeus, which makes it among the most easily accessible of the Saronic islands from Athens.

— the year

The Battle of Salamis was fought in the strait between the island and the mainland in late September of 480 BC. An allied Greek fleet of roughly 370 triremes under the Athenian general Themistocles drew the much larger Persian navy of Xerxes I into the narrows and destroyed it there — Herodotus and Aeschylus both put the Persian losses at over 200 ships. Xerxes is said to have watched from a throne set up on the slopes of Mount Aigaleo on the Attic shore. The defeat ended the Persian threat to mainland Greece and is treated, alongside Marathon and Plataea, as one of the turning points of the Greco-Persian Wars.

— the visit

Ferries cross from Perama to the small port of Paloukia on Salamis every ten to fifteen minutes throughout the day, with a crossing of about fifteen minutes and a fare that has long been among the cheapest in Greek ferry traffic. There is no airport. The island's main town is Salamina; to the west lies the monastery of Panagia Faneromeni, founded in the seventeenth century and one of the most visited religious sites in Attica outside Athens itself. Beaches are mainly on the south and west coasts. Most foreign visitors come on a day trip from Athens, often combined with the archaeological site of Eleusis on the mainland opposite.

— where
Greece · Islands regional unit, Attica, Greece
— position
37.9667° N · 23.5000° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
2 km E
Perama
mainland ferry port
10 km E
Piraeus
port of Athens
8 km N
Eleusis
ancient sanctuary on the mainland
25 km S
Aegina
Saronic Gulf island
N
Salamis Island
Perama
Piraeus
Eleusis
Aegina
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Salamis Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Salamis lies in the Saronic Gulf, just off the western coast of Attica, less than two kilometres from the mainland at its narrowest. It is the largest island in the gulf and the closest to Athens, reached in fifteen minutes by ferry from Perama.

A naval battle fought in the strait between the island and the mainland in September 480 BC. An allied Greek fleet under Themistocles drew the Persian navy of Xerxes I into the narrows and destroyed it, ending the Persian threat to mainland Greece.

By car ferry from the small port of Perama, just west of Piraeus, which runs every ten to fifteen minutes to Paloukia on Salamis. The crossing takes about fifteen minutes. There is no airport on the island.

Salamis covers about 95 square kilometres and is home to roughly 39,000 permanent residents, most of them in the town of Salamina on the eastern shore. It is the largest of the Saronic Gulf islands.

Panagia Faneromeni is a seventeenth-century Greek Orthodox monastery on the western side of Salamis, founded around 1670. It is one of the most visited religious sites in the Attica region outside the city of Athens itself.

Tradition reports that Euripides was born on Salamis around 480 BC, in the same year as the battle, though the sources are late and the claim is debated. A cave on the southern coast of the island is identified locally as his writing retreat.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with Greek family and for classicists. Salamis carries weight beyond its size, both as a Saronic island and as the strait that turned the Persian Wars. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The blues, whites, and warm stone tones of the Voynich treatment sit naturally with Mediterranean-modern, classical-library, and warm coastal interiors with linen, marble, and bound books. It does not want a cool Scandinavian room around it.

Yes. The Aegean-blue palette has been a steady current in coastal interiors, and the recent move toward grounded references to specific historic places has only strengthened it. Salamis reads as both.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads at the right scale. Above a longer console or in a wider gallery wall, a four-tile Mural holds the space. A nine-tile Mural is for a feature wall or stairwell.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with steam or splash — kitchen backsplash, bathroom feature wall, mudroom. The Glossy finish is for framed wall display in dry rooms.

A microfibre cloth, slightly damp with water, is all the tile needs. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the surface, so there is nothing to wear off with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house in the studio's Voynich stained-glass and alcohol-ink language, then slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure. Nothing is licensed in.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.