The architectural treasures of Tinos make it a virtual museum of folk art. The local houses are plain and practical, built according to the traditional Cycladean architecture, whitewashed with blue doors and windows and lovely "Kapassi" (chimneys). The main characteristic of the island are its 1,000 pigeon-houses, made of stone near fertile land and mountain slopes. Their lower part serves as a storage-room for agricultural and stock-breeding products, and the upper part houses the pigeons, bred by the locals for consumption. The pigeon-houses are monuments of architectural creation, unique throughout Greece. Tinos is considered an artistic island. It was the Motherland of the painters, Litras and Gizis, and the sculptors, Filippotis, Vitalis and Halepas. Today, many local artists still live on the island, while the craft of marble work has lived on throughout generations. The people of Tinos are half Catholic, half Orthodox, yet they are all deeply religious and have a special love for the Virgin Mary. It is the only Cycladean island with tourists who come here of religious proposes. The customs have been preserved unaltered by the locals. A famous custom is "hirsfagi" when they kill a pig and take its meat, called "kreatika", to store it for the years. It is family custom taking place from dusk till dawn, with a lot of wine drinking. The people of Tinos love singing and dancing. Their favourite dances are "balos" and "sirtos", danced to the sounds of the violin and the accordion. At the local feasts, the young people wear their traditional costumes: the men wear a blue "vraka" and straw hat with black ribbon, and the women wear a blue skirt, a beautiful vest with a gold belt and a purple coat with gold ornaments.