Sitia

Infobox Greek Dimos
name = Sitia
name_local = Σητεία


caption_skyline = View of Sitia with Kazarma fortress on top
city_

city_

lat_deg = 35
lat_min = 12
lon_deg = 26
lon_min = 6
elevation_min = 0
elevation_max = 5
periph = Crete
prefec = Lasithi
districts =
mayor = Nikolaos Kouroupakis
party =
since =
population_as_of = 2001
population = 14338
area = 277.382
population_metro =
area_metro =
postal_code = 72x xx
area_code = 284x0
licence = ΑΝ
website = [http://www.sitia.gr www.sitia.gr]

Sitia (Greek: Σητεία) refers both to a port town, with 8,900 inhabitants (2001) and a municipality, with 14,338 inhabitants (2001) 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 town is one of the economic centers of the Lasithi region. European route E75, which ends in Vardø, starts in Sitia. Plans to upgrade the local airport have not materialised. Sitia has not experienced the effects of mass tourism since the Poole family rented windsurfers back in the eighties; 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.

History

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.

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.

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 harbor.

Notable people

*Vitsentzos Kornaros poet (composer of Erotokritos)
*Jenny Hiloudaki (1968) transsexual persona
*Katerina Papoutsaki actress
*Giannis Savidakis singer
*Giorgos Mazonakis singer
*Daniel Poole socialite
*Eleni Kastani actress

References