NEAPOLI
Neapoli lies in a lush green valley just 15km west of Agios Nikolaos. During the Venetian occupation it consisted of two settlements which were referred to as a unit by the name “Kenourio Chorio" (New Village). The settlements retained the name until 1868 when the governor of Lassithi, Kostis Adosides Pasha renamed the two settlements Neapolis (New Town) and declared Neapolis as the capital of the Lassithi Prefecture. This lasted until 1904 when Agios Nikolaos became the capital of the Lassithi Prefecture.
One of its most renowned citizens was Petros Filargos or Pope Alexander V. He was born an orphan and was brought up by the monks of the local monastery and studied at the Venetian monastery of San Francesco (where the Archaeological Museum is located). He was declared Pope at the Synod of Pisa in 1409 but he died in Bologna before reaching Rome and is buried in a splendid mausoleum in the church of San Francesco.
Interesting sights in this area are the Byzantine church of Agia Ekaterini, the Panagia Kera Goniotisa and the monastery of Agios Georgios Vrahatsiotis.
