If you thought Sitia was just another sleepy town on Crete’s edge, think again. The city played host to a high-profile stop by a team from UNESCO, led by Katerina Tzitzikosta, the President of Greece’s National Committee. Her entourage swooped in for a headline-grabbing official UNESCO visit, making this a date for the local tourism history books.
- The UNESCO team paid their first proper visit to Crete after crowning the Minoan palaces as World Heritage sites.
- Miss Tzitzikosta caught up with Sitia’s mayor, Giorgos Zervakis, for spirited small talk at City Hall.
- The President of the City Council, Maro Nikitaki, the Deputy Mayor for Everything Bureaucratic and Geopark-related, Kostis Lymperios, and Sitia’s geosite point man, Vagelis Perakis, did not miss the photo op.
To cap off the ceremony, Mayor Zervakis handed Ms. Tzitzikosta a symbol that would puzzle most: a replica of the Minoan Computer from Palaikastro. It’s the sort of gift that says, “We have history and we’re not afraid to show it. Also, please Google our monuments.”
Minoan Ruins and Cultural Pitch
The town’s top brass and the UNESCO visitors didn’t just sip coffee in air-conditioned rooms. Guided by the spirit of responsibility (and maybe a tight schedule), they strolled through the Minoan Palace at Kato Zakros, now proudly on the World Heritage list.
Ms. Tzitzikosta didn’t come empty-handed. She promised to support Sitia’s campaign to have “Erotokritos” included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Meanwhile, the UNESCO team got the bright idea to pay for the Aretousa Choir’s travel to Italy so that they can swap “O Sole Mio” with the “Corale Madonna di San Giovanni.”
This official UNESCO visit buzz makes Sitia more than just a dot on the map for those chasing history, culture, and spectacular nature in one stop.
