Savvathiana Monastery near Rogdia

The monastery of Savatiana is located in Rogdia, 20km west of the city of Heraklion. The monastery is one of the several monasteries that operated in the area during the Venetian period, which was later mercilessly destroyed by the Turks.

Savvathiana monastery is built on a naturally fortified position, possibly in order to protect the monks from the constant pirate raids before the Venetian period. During the Venetian Occupation of Crete it should have been the strongest monastery in the wider area, even stronger than the famous monastery of Agia Pelagia that operated on the north side of the beach of Agia Pelagia, which later became a dependency of Savatiana.

Among the abbots of the monastery, was Maximos Marnounios, a very well known scholar of the Venetian Era. Also in Savatiana, there are the tombs of two major rebels against the Turks, Evmenios Vourexakis and Iraklis Kokkinidis.