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Address:
Ρέθυμνο 
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Places near Church
Chromonastiri is a beautiful village 12km south of Rethymno Town, built at the foot of Vrysina mountain and has a population of 358 inhabitants. Buildings with Venetian architectural elements are scattered in the village, but the most important building is the so-called Villa Claudio, a magnificent mansion, which has been restored and houses the museum of the Army.
The Military Museum houses many exhibits - military uniforms, weapons of various ages, decorations, etc.
ADDRESS: Chromonastiri village, Rethymnon.
HOURS: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
ADMISSION: 1.50 €.
TELEPHONE: 28310 75 135.
The main church is dedicated to Virgin Mary and according to the inscription it seems to go back to 1864. The Monastery is much older, dating back to the 16 th or 17 th century; it was active up to 1900. Today the Monastery is in ruins. It has been attached to the Monastery of Aghia Irini, since 1990.
Mili Gorge is located 7 km outside Rethymno, very close to Chromonastiri village, to the south, up on the hills, it is an idyllic one-day tour for those who like to walk in the country. A real paradise, a place of purifying harmony, beauty and peace, the splendour of nature.
A walk to another world, unspoiled and uplifting, untouched from progress or tourism, in the green, between trees and plants, along little steams, under the songs and sounds of many kind of birds. Old and now deserted watermills, along the stream, were supplying Rethymno with flour during the last centuries, giving the name to the old and the new settlements.
Taking Theotokopoulou street, passing from Evligias hill, with the pine tree forest, the road comes to the Nunnery of Agia Irini. It was founded in 981 and it is one of the oldest monasteries in Crete. It was completely destroyed by the Turks at 1896 and it was restored on 1989. 2 km after, there is the new village of Mili from where you can get down to Mili gorge and the old settlement. Taking the gorge to the end, it leads back to the coast of Rethymno.
The village of Roussospiti is situated above the town of Rethimnon with a marvellous view of the sea and the “Lefka Ori” (White Mountains). Rethymnon is about 70 kilometres from either Chania or Heraklion airport on the National Road.
Then it is 8 kms to Roussospiti; this journey will take about 1:30 hours. There are two access roads to the village:a) Rethymnon, city centre, about 8 kilometresb)Misiria, about 8 kilometres with direct access to the National Road
Today there are about 700 people in our village. Half of them are “Real Roussospitiani” and the remainder are foreigners or Greeks from other parts of the island /country. There are two churches in the village, the old “Isodou Theotokou” and the “Agia Paraskevi”, where every Sunday a Greek-orthodox mass is celebrated. “Agia (Saint) Paraskevi” is the patron saint of the village, and on July 26, her name day, there is a big village celebration.
In Roussospiti there is a kindergarten and a primary school for the local children. There is also a Minimarket, a “kafenion”, a kiosk and two “tavernas” for the benefit of locals and visitors alike. At the moment we are fighting to get a regular bus-service to “Rethymnon”.
The origins of the village are supposed to date back to the Venetian times (around 14th century). Whilst excavations were being made in the old church “Isodia tis Theodokou”, coins were found, which date back to the year 1000.
There are two stories about the name Roussospiti. The word “spiti” means house. The first story says, that the first house in the village, built by the Venetians, was a red (Italian rosso) house. The second version refers to a Russian (Rousso) lady, who was ill. She came to Crete because of the healthy climate and built a house, which can still be seen to this day.
From about 1500 the Venetian power was replaced by the Turks. Around 1600 the village is supposed to have had 30 houses and a Turkish ruler, who had 300 slaves working for him. At this time a lot of Greek surnames were created having –akis on the end, which you still find today. This is a grammatical diminutive and the Turks forced the people to put it at the end of their names. The idea being to keep the Cretans psychologically “little” (for example Mylonas=Miller, Mylonakis=little Miller). Surnames on Crete without the ending –akis belong very often to families who left Crete during the Turkish occupation, mostly to Asia Minor.
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