Kyrianna
Kyrianna is a village of the prefecture of Rethymno, located shortly after the Adele on the road towards the Arkadi monastery, 14 km southeast of the city of Rethymno.
Built on a hillside overlooking the Cretan Sea at an altitude of about 220 meters, the Kyrianna is a mountain village with rich soils, livestock and horticultural products and substantial oil production.
The village was probably named after some Kyria (=Lady) Anna or after the nickname Ai Kyr Gianni, referring to Agios Ioannis Ksenos, who traveled to this region in the 11th century and built the central Byzantine church of the Virgin. In front of the church there is an impressive bell tower with three arches, while inside there is a marble slab decorated with scenes from the life of Christ and the Saints. In the village, there is also a church of Christ the Savior.
In the 16th century Kyrianna was a fief of Matthaios Kallergis, who controlled almost all the villages in the Northeastern part of Rethymno County. Indeed, Kallergis was the one to undertake the renovation of the facade of the Arkadi Monastery along with Abbot Klimis Hortatzis. The facade of the church of the Assumption in the village resembles the one of Arkadi.
The Palazzo, an imposing mansion in the village has been built based on the designs of the architects of the monastery in free cross shape with a dome and the emblem of the Kallergis family on the south side. It is considered to be rural mansion of the landowner. Later, when Kallergis was assassinated in 1572, his family moved to Venice.
Following an enjoyable route through the verdant vegetation, the Kyrianna is a beautiful village with a very good climate and many Renaissance buildings, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants at the entrance and the exit of the village. The settlement also offers modern rural tourist units.
