Xirosterni is a small, traditional village located between Kefalas and Vamos. It is a mainly residential village with beautiful views towards the White Mountains and the sea.
The village was previously called Viola, which is a Cretan flower. The new name Xirosterni means dry cistern or well and came about during the Ottoman rule when a Turk ordered a villager to pull water out of the cistern for his horse to drink. To avoid the humiliation of serving the enemy, the villager replied that there was no water. The Turk then asked angrily why the town is calked Viola? It should be called Xirosterni he said! Every 5th and 6th of August a local festival takes place in with Cretan music, dancing and food prepared by the villagers. An old time lyra player singing in the town for his friends said "To Xerosterniano nero lene pos ehi avdeles, ma kino to marioliko vgazi omorfous glentzedes" meaning "They say that the water of Xirosterni has leeches, but this beautiful town gives birth to handsome dancers and singers".
Later Nikos Xilouris, a famous singer from Anogia Crete, changed it to "They say that the water of Xirosterni has leeches, but this beautiful town gives birth to beautiful young women". Every year many tourists arrive for this celebration.
The lyra player Charilaos Piperakis depicted on the statue beside the wells was born in Xirosterni at the end of the 19th century (there are various dates given all around the 1890's, but the statue shows1893) and travelled to California when he was 17. He became very famous and travelled all over America. Sadly he died there in 1978 but today his music lives on and can be found on YouTube, Spotify and ITunes.