DISCOVER SITIA

Sitia refers both to a port town, with about 9,000 inhabitants and a municipality, with about 15,000 inhabitants in the far east of Crete, in the prefecture of Lasithi. It lies to the east of Agios Nikolaos and to the northeast of Ierapetra.

The main road that runs between Agia Nikolaos and Sitia is one of the most dramatic in Crete, winding through olive groves on the steep sides of mountains where around every bend is a spectacular view.

Sitia is the easternmost city on Crete and perhaps the least developed. Even during the busy summer peak, Sitia retains a certain charm and laid-back style. Sitia has been inhabited since the Minoan period. At Petra, to the east of the town, a section of ancient settlement has been excavated.

There is a waterfront with restaurants and cafes, a large public beach, and an archeological museum which holds many of the findings from Palekastro.

The town is one of the economic centers of the Lasithi region. European route E75, which ends in Vardo, starts in Sitia. Plans to upgrade the local airport have not materialised.

Sitia has not experienced the effects of mass tourism; even though there is a long beach along the road leading to Vai and several places of historical interest, the town is visited by few tourists.

The earliest settlement of the town dates back to Minoan times; excavations in the neighbouring site of Petras have unearthed architectural remains that date back to the end of the Neolithic period 3000 BC and continue throughout the Bronze Age 3000-1050 BC. According to Diogenes Laertius, Sitia was the home of Myson of Chen, one of the Seven Sages of Greece.

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VENETIAN ERA

The town was later expanded and fortified by the Venetians who used it as a base of operations for the Eastern Mediterranean. During the Venetian occupation, the town was destroyed three times: by an earthquake in 1508, by a pirate attack in 1538 and finally by the Venetians themselves in 1651 so as not to fall into the hands of the Turks.

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MODERN ERA

After the Venetians moved out of Crete, the town was abandoned for two centuries until it was resettled by farmers in 1869. The main remnant of the Venetian occupation is the Kazarma (from Italian casa di arma), the old fortress overlooking the harbour.

From Wikipedia

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