Medieval Buildings

All historical periods have strongly left their marks on the land of Sitia. After the extinction of the Minoan glow, the country of the Praesians continued its Minoan course in a hostile environment, that of the conquering Dorians, until it was destroyed by the powerful city of the Ierapytnias. The Greek and Hellenistic periods were succeeded by the Roman Empire, which also left its own marks. The Roman fish tanks, the Roman theater in Koufonisi and other ruins show the passage of the Romans and the importance of the province during those times.

The Byzantine period that follows, carves new fortresses, new settlements, important ports, large and small listed churches in the body of the province. As much as they are easy prey for pirates and robbers, the land and its villages continue an uninterrupted and important cultural course. The Venetians – new masters of the place – bury the previous history under the foundations of their own buildings and take care to indelibly seal their passage from the countryside.

The fortress of Kazarma, the scattered feudal towers, the shining edifices, the new settlements built on old ruins, the vigiliae and the shifts, the great mansions and rich mansions, the strong walls and the rough walls, all these are signs of a long-standing Venetian establishment that anyone can come across on their way.

The same happened with the successors of the Venetian Ottomans. Except that there are no significant works of culture left from them. More in written monuments, one will find their history and in still alive traditions and folk stories that are deeply engraved in the memory of the local people and in the names of the villages and toponyms.