Saint Pelagia church at Lassithi Plateau
After the lifting of the ban on cultivation of the Lassithi Plateau by the Venetians, they left the land to refugees from the Peloponnese, that was occupied by the Turks in the 15th century.
Among the refugees were the nuns Paladia and Theokliti. The first founded the historical monastery of Panagia Kroustallenia (around 1545). Theokliti, who was the abbot in the monastery of Saint Marina at Kalavrita, founded another monastery dedicated Saint Pelagia (Agia Pelagia) in Lassithi Plateau.
The monastery operated only till 1583, but the reason for the termination of its operation is till unknown. Today, the temple has been restored. There is an impressive bell made of a bomb of the Second World War, quite common in churches of the Cretan countryside.
