Platania
Platania is a village in the prefecture of Rethymno located approximately 46 km southeast of the city of Rethymno.
At an altitude of about 420 meters, Platania is built in amphitheater style in a small steep valley at the foothills of Psiloritis. Apart from its great location, the village embraces the entrance of a not well known gorge and is completely invisible from the main road that runs through the municipality.
The village Platania has been established since the ancient times and the millenary presence of local residents in the area has been demonstrated through the existence of monuments and sources.
Platania participated in all national struggles for Freedom and Justice, as well as in 1866 and immediately after that in the holocaust of Arkadi monastery. All the liturgy objects and the monastery relics were transferred for storage in this village.
Probably the most important attraction of the Platania village is the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which dates to the 14th century and is erected in the center of the village on the ruins of an older temple.
The village of Platania is the hometown of Kallirroi Siganou-Parren, the Greek pioneer feminist and founder of the Lyceum of Greek Women. The villagers have set up a bust in the center of the village in order to honor her.
Above all, the village of Platania is famous for its picturesqueness and well maintained traditional character. Therefore, the inhabitants can now take advantage of the fact that the village is not very famous among tourists, developing alternative forms of tourism. Do not miss the cave located above the village, at location Pana, since according to the legend it is where the ancient god was born. Inside, there are stone-paintings that, according to archaeologists, are dating to the Minoan period and suggest the religious significance of the place.
