Chromonastiri is a local community of the Rethymno Municipality in the

Rethymno (regional unit) Rethymno () is one of the four regional units of Crete, Greece. Its capital is the city of Rethymno. Today its main income is tourism. The countryside is also based economically on agriculture and herding. Administration The regional unit Rethym ...

of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

established by

Kallikratis reform The Kallikratis Programme ( el, Πρόγραμμα Καλλικράτης, Prógramma Kallikrátis) is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the count ...

. Previously, it was part of the former municipality of Rethymno. Chromonastiri is a traditional settlement and is classified in Class II, that is of average cultural value (Government Gazette 728/21-9-1995). Buildings with Venetian architectural elements are scattered throughout the village. In the years 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Chromonastiri received an award of the '"cleaner and organized traditional community"' Chromonastiri sign

Origin of name, History

Chromonastiri is located 11 km southeast of

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

, east of the Mount Vrisinas at an altitude of 360 meters The name means “Color and Monastery”, and probably this name comes by the coexistence of the village and the monastery of Panayía Kerá (back to the Second Byzantine and Venetian period). Built around the 12th-13th centuries and has been characterized as a traditional village, as several buildings were built during the Venetian period. The local community of Chromonastiri consists of four settlements: Chromonastiri, Prinedes (Πρινέδες), Kapediana (Καπεδιανά) and

Myli, Rethymno Μyli (referred also as: Myloi, Mili or even Muloi. In Greek: Μύλοι) is a part of the local community of Chromonastiri of the Rethymno Municipality in the Rethymno (regional unit) of the region of Crete established by Kallikratis reform. C ...

(Μύλοι). ;Population of Chromonastiri

Temples, monuments, and major buildings

The Church of Panayía Kerá is a painted Byzantine church of cruciform shape with a dome, dating from the 11th century, with frescoes of 14th century. Another important Byzantine church of the 11th century - that of Ayios Eftychios - is situated outside Chromonastiri at the area called Perdíki Metóhi, again with amazing frescoes of the 11th century (amazing are the huge eyes of the saints and especially of Christ) The Parish Church of this settlement is St. George Church.

Villa Clodio A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became sm ...

: Buildings with Venetian architectural elements are scattered in the village, but the most important building is the so-called Villa Clodio, which used to be the summer residence of Venetian nobles from Rethymno and in the Ottoman period it was a house of an Ottoman dignitary (konak). It is a magnificent mansion which has been restored and houses the Military Museum. The Military Museum houses many exhibits - military uniforms, weapons of various ages, decorations, etc. The oil mill of Prinari: The old factory (oil mill) of Prinari, fully renovated, with all its old equipment, located in the settlement, welcomes visitors to its cultural learning centre for an experience to learn all things relating to the olive and its milling process.

Daily life, Festivities

The village celebrates Saint Panteleimon's name day (27 July)

Miscellaneous

There is public bus service ( KTEL) from Rethymno (two services, morning and noon on weekdays and not weekends) Since 7 July 2005 the area of Chromonastiri is included in the

Cadastre A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...

system and is under the authority of the

Cadastral Office of Rethymno A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...

(20 Hortatzis Str., ZIP: 74100, Rethymno, Phone n.: 0030-28310-22403)

External links

Photo Gallery, Web site of municipality of Rethymnno
retrieved at 9 April 2012
Cycling routes, Web site of Tourism Promotion Committee of Rethymno Prefecture
retrieved at 9 April 2012
Route:Rethymno - Aghia Irini - Roussospiti - Chromonastiri - Myli - Rethymno, Tourism Promotion Committee of Rethymno Prefecture
retrieved at 9 April 2012

References