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Places near Agia Paraskevi
In the Voila position to the east of Chandras are the remains of a Venetian castle, which include parts of the tower, the storerooms and other constructs, as well as two of the fountains that supply water to the area to this day.
The plateau of Ziros is in the southwestern part of the park and covers a significant area, which is home to the village by the same name, a small seasonal marsh, as well as many crops and human activities.
This plateau is at an altitude of about 600 m. at the west side of Zakros village. 30 km away from Sitia, Ziros is the center of the Lefki municipality. Around Ziros there are the villages Hametulo, Lamnoni, Kalo Horio and the coastal settlement of Xerokambos. The whole plateau is planted with vineyards and the region is famous for its wine and raki production.10 kms away from Ziros is the village Hametulo from which is starting the interesting trek of the homonymous gorge. The gorge is dry but impressive and it ends to the beach of Xerokambos.Near by Handras are two important Venetian settlements, Voila and Etia. The settlements are preserved in a good condition due to the reconstruction program of Lefki municipality. The Venetian settlement Voila is spread across a hill 1km away from the village Handras. In the same place there is the church of Agios Georgios.
Springtime is the optimal time here for discoveries of botanical interest. The route towards Chandras to the west is made easier with your back to the morning sun.
An area of dense green vineyards surrounds your route along the asphalt road. Just before Chandras, follow the end of the asphalt road to the right and still keeping right along a narrow passageway, follow the dirt road to Katelionas village. (A small detour leads to Voila with its historical, religious and architectural sights-200 metres off your route). Continuing along in the same direction, go through Sitanos village, which location is protected from the northwest winds. It has been claimed that this is the place to which the inhabitants of ancient Itanos went after the destruction of their city.The route after Sitanos heads west and left and eventually goes downhill towards Katsidoni (where there is a traditional coffee shop). The dirt road to the left (before the village) within the olive groves brings you south to the asphalt road that leads left to Chandras and Ziros from where you started. South and close to Ziros are villages and settlements untouched by modernization, and further south the wonderful beaches of the Libyan Sea such as Xerokambos, as well as the particular natural beauty of the island of Koufonisi. From a botanical point of view, the monastery of Kapsa with its gorge (Kapsa gorge is located next to the Monastery) of the same name, and Goudouras village and the beaches at this area have some rare species of plants that are endemic only to this area.
Saint George at Voila
The twin-naved church, dedicated to St. George and to St. John is located southeast of the settlement of Chandras and next to the ruined settlement of Voilas which is dominated by the magnificent medieval tower. The architectural type of the church has emerged as a result of the successive interpolations to the original, single-nave church, the present south aisle, which was originally expanded to the west and to which the north aisle was added later. On the south wall of the western expansion is a funerary monument-arcosolium that has the worn representation of the enthroned All-Holy Virgin the Vrefokratousa with the donors, members of the Salomon family, on its drum. George Salomon in 1518 and members of his family in 1560 were buried here, according to the two written inscriptions. A very interesting miniature representation accompanies the second inscription on the west wall, in which a scene of funeral mourning is depicted, in a monotone colour scheme, with the dead woman on the deathbed and, around it, the threnodists and, probably, relatives lamenting.
The settlement of Voila (In Greek: Βόϊλα) is 1km away from the village of Chandras in Sitia area, Lassithi Prefecture. It is a medieval deserted village protected by the Greek Archaeological Authorities.
The name Voila probably comes from the Byzantine word Voilas or Volias, i.e. a nobleman, a landowner. The current form of the church constitutes a complex made up of the conjoint churches of St. Georgios and St. John the Evangelist. St. Georgios is located on the southern side of the church complex and predates St. John’s church. However, the lower section of a niche that protrudes to the east indicates that it was also built over an older church.
The two churches, which communicate through large arched openings, belong to the type of single-nave barrel-vaulted churches with two transverse reinforcing arches. The western part of the church of St. Georgios is slightly elevated compared to the rest of the church. It seems to have been modified to accommodate the tomb of the founders, which is also the most interesting aspect of the whole building complex. It is in fact a pseudosarcophagus located in the southwestern corner. Above it on the southern wall, an arched frame with a funerary fresco accompanied by an epigram of folk style can be seen.
The scene depicted is that of the Virgin Mary and Child sitting on a throne, while on either side there are two noble couples. One of them has a child with it and is wearing interesting clothing, and the second couple is of older age: According to Gerola who dated this scene to 1516, the eldest person depicted is Georgios Salamon, a Venetian Patrician (Gerola 1993, p. 339 and fig. 17). Following specialised research, this appears to probably be the ancestral family of our national poet Dionysios Solomos, which moved to Iraklion and from there to Zakynthos. This surname is found even today in the villages of Sitia. Many people with the surname Solomos lived in Chandras according to Gerola. The register of noble lords of Sitia of 1582 mentions Giuane, Piero and Marco under the surname Salamon, names which also appear alternatingly in the family tree of the Solomos family in Zanynthos.
On the western wall above the tomb, there is also a second fresco of small size in a rectangular frame, which depicts a mourning scene and bears an inscription dated 1560 A.D.
Nothing remains for the visitor to see today, except piles of ruins, of this once flourishing village situated between Handras and Sitanos. In 1583 census for the Venetians is mentioned as Cattegliona of Sitia with 428 (!!) inhabitants; the population however, slowly diminished until in 1881 there were only 26 living there, and now it is completely deserted. Certain researchers believe that the ancient city of Dragmos must have been sited here. According to the inscription of the Arbitration of the Magnesians this was situated between Itanos and Pressos. Certainly,funerary inscriptions, larnakes and innumerable potsherdssupport the theory that there was some ancient settlement here. Katellionas Katellionas Despite this it is thought by some that Katellionas was originally a pure Venetian village. In any case it must once have been fortified as we can see from the name which is derived from a Latin-based word meaning «fortified place». The Greek equivalent is Kastello, also from the Latin root. Katellionas Katellionas From the book "Sitia", N.Papadakis, Arcaeologist,1983
South of the Venetian castle in Voila there is a fountain with relief sculptures on the limestone.
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