Listed 36 sub titles with search on: Sights for wider area of: "LASSITHI Prefecture CRETE" .
CHOUMERIAKOS (Village) NEAPOLI
There is a very interesting Venetian door (Porta Romano) in the village.
The house at one time was used by the Turkish administration (the Pasha) of the
area.
NEAPOLI (Small town) LASSITHI
Neapolis has many buildings as well as roads from the Turkish era
left from the able administration (1867-1871) of Adhosidis Kostis Pasha. These
include the present-day Law Courts (provincial) and various school buildings in
Neapolis.
ETIA (Settlement) LASSITHI
Tel: +30 28430 23917
Etia is situated between the Papagiannades and Armenoi villages. Doubtless the name "Etia" comes from the namesake tree (Itia in Greek means willow). Though the settlement already existed in the Byzantine period - as the Byzantine churches of St. John and St. Catherine indicate - it flourished at the time of the Venetian occupation in Crete (1204-1669), as a fiefdom of the Venetian family De Mezzo. The jewel of their estate is villa De Mezzo, which is considered among the most characteristic examples of the Venetian urban architecture in Crete. In the following years of the Ottoman occupation, it was used as the residence of the Turkish officials, and therefore named by the locals "Seragio-Saray".
The first to mention that the villa of Etia was built by a rich and noble Venetian was the English Admiral T. B. Spratt, whose comments on his travels in Crete remain a valuable historical source from the mid-19th century. Later, the Italian archaeologist G. Gerola, links the owner of the villa with the members of the De Mezzo family. According to the genealogical records of the Venetian gentry there were three Mezzi in Sitia, Pietro, Nicholas and Giacobbe. Among them, Pietro dei Mezzo is considered to be the founder of the Etia estate and the owner of its villa towards the end of the 15th century.
The very emblem of De Mezzo, consisting of exotic figures bearing a broad shield, stands over the imposing entrance of the main megaron. By passing the entrance of the three-storey building, the visitor enters a barrel-vaulted antechamber with paved floor. Opposite the entrance, a staircase leads to the second floor. Here, on the lintel of the entrance to the floors, around a relief head, runs the following inscription in capital Latin letters:
IERAPETRA (Town) LASSITHI
The Venetians built the fortress and harbour and in 1626, they enlarged and reinforced it. Recently, the castle was restored by the city.
SITIA (Town) LASSITHI
There were fortifying walls around the city of Sitia from the Byzantine
period. These fortifications were restored by the Genoese and by the Venetians
but were never very strong. In 1539, the pirate Barbarosa conquered the city and
levelled the forts and the town. When the Turks invaded the island the Venetians
destroyed the fort so that it would not fall into the hands of Turks. The ruins
of a Venetian castle are still visible today. A tower of three storeys has survived.
North of the fort there is a little chapel built from the ruins of a Venetian
monastery destroyed by the Turks.
This text is cited Mar 2003 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
SPINALONGA (Island) CRETE
Tel: +30 28410 41773
The
islet of Spinalonga
is located at the entrance of the Elounta bay.
In antiquity there was a fortress of the Olounites. In 1579 the Venetians built an imposing
fortress
and the islet was used as a military camp during the Venetian - Ottoman wars which ended with the subjection of Crete to the Turks in 1669.
It is noteworthy that the fortified Spinalonga was occupied by the Ottomans only in the early 18th century and was used as
a settlement until the end of the 19th centrury. From 1903 until 1957, by law of the Cretan and later the Greek State,
Spinalonga was established as a settlement for the lepers.
AVRAKODES (Village) OROPEDIO LASSITHIOU
South of the village
MILATOS (Village) NEAPOLI
Near the village is the Milatos Cave which has eight entrances and
is more a series of caverns than one cave. In 1823, the army of Turkish General
Hasan trapped 2,700 men, women, and children in the cave and fifteen days later,
after guaranteeing their safe passage out, the Turkish forces killed all the men
and sold the women and children into slavery in Egypt. Later, the bones that remained
were gathered together in a monument to the fallen heroes.
This text is cited Feb 2003 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
MILATOS (Port) MIRAMBELOU
18.5 kms from Neapoli. Picturesque fishing village. In the cave of Milatos, known as the Cave of Rapas, in 1823 a large number of children and women hide in order to escape from the Turks, who surrounded them and isolated them. When, after 15 days they were forced to surrender, Hassan Passa massacred the older and some warriors who were with them and sold the women as slaves in the East.
NEES MALES (Village) IERAPETRA
SPINALONGA (Island) CRETE
VAI (Beach) LASSITHI
It is perhaps the most frequently visited place in the region. The
existence of the grove, already known in the Classical period, was attributed
to the Phoenicians who landed here. According to the story, they threw away the
seeds of the dates they were eating. Due to repeated fires, the authorities have
lately fenced off the whole area and routes to the beach.
AGIOS IOANNIS (Village) IERAPETRA
PALEKASTRO (Small town) ITANOS
Fantastic canyon situated 5km away from Palekastro, with about 2,5-3 km length.
Its path is a special experience which gonna fill with enthusiasm the nature lovers
thanks to its impressive and wild beauty. After a walk of about 1.30 hour the
gorge winds up at a virgin and unspoiled beach, ideal for swimming, fishing and
resting.
PEFKI (Village) MAKRYS GIALOS
SELINARI (Settlement) NEAPOLI
The gorge of Selinari is the place where the builder of the church
of Agios Georgios, Nikolaos, lived and died. The church of Agios Georgios is considered
to be miraculous and travellers stop by to pray.
CHANDRAS (Village) LEFKI
In Handras there is the Venetian Villa Voila, easily seen from the
road as it is spread across a small hill to the east of the village in the middle
of a green and fertile valley. There are ruins of a house and a small church,
Agios Georgios, and a fountain behind and below the church.
ITANOS (Municipality) LASSITHI
ANO SYMI (Settlement) IERAPETRA
There are two Byzantine churches here The interesting church of Agios
Georgios is from the fifteenth century and has frescoes by Emmanuel Fokas inside
and good decorations on the stone above the doors on the outside of the church.
The church of Christos is in need of repair.
ELOUNDA (Small town) LASSITHI
There are ruins of a basilica east of the site of Olous, behind the
restaurant. The floor is a black and white mosaic incorporating fish and plant
designs. Built into the wall of the church is an inscription in the Doric dialect
that records the end of an alliance between Olous and Rhodes.
This text is cited Feb 2003 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
FINOKALIA (Settlement) NEAPOLI
Tel: +30 28410 32338
Fax: +30 28410 31344
ITANOS (Ancient city) ITANOS
Remains of the first Byzantine period include those of a basilica
of the fifth century which was probably a converted temple of Athena.
IERAPETRA (Town) LASSITHI
In 1647, the Turks captured the town. You can still see remnants of
their occupation in the old town near the harbour, such as the remains of a Turkish
fountain in front of a derelict mosque (now being renovated).
OROPEDIO LASSITHIOU (Municipality) LASSITHI
It is the most significant group of windmills preserved on Crete. It occupies the northern entrance to the Lasithi plateau and is the landmark of the whole area. Today 24 windmills are preserved (out of the original 26), 7 of which extend to the south of the road that enters the plateau while the rest are built to the north of it. All the mills belong to the one-sided type of windmill, that grinds in a standard position, always on the same direction of the wind. Windmills of this type are preserved on Crete and on Carpathos but the Cretan ones are generally more carefully built and more elegant.
The group of windmills has been declared a work of art since 1986. The mills belong to individuals and some of them have been restored while others still remain half-ruined.
Two of the twenty-four windmills have been restored by their owners.
This text is cited Feb 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below, which also contains image.
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