The excavations in the area of Eleftherna started 16 years ago, in 1985, when the faculty of Archeology and History of Art of the University of Crete decided to investigate the well-known, from literary evidence, ancient city.
A small research had been made in the area and in 1929 from the Britannic Archeological Academy, under the direction of H.Payne.   The remains have been revealed in the broader area of the two contemporary neighboring villages, Eleftherna and Ancient Eleftherna, located at the northern foothills of Psiloritis and at a distance of 24 and 29 km respectively from the city of Rethymno.

In the village of Monastiraki situated in the valley of Amari, 38 km away from Rethymno, there has been discovered a building complex which must have been built around 2000 BC and destroyed by a violent destruction, earthquake or fire, round 1700 BC.

In the cotemporary village of Thronos, at a distance of 33 km southeast of Rethymno, at the place Kefala, the archeological research has revealed remains of the ancient city of Sivritos.

Near the current village of Apodoulou located 54 km from Rethymno, in the place Tournes, there have been discovered the remains of an old palace centre. The first explorations had been realized by the archeologist Sp. Marinatos, in 1934.

At the plateau of Nida, at an altitude of 1538m, there is the “Spiliara tis Voscopoulas” (the cave of the shepherdess), the cave where, according to mythology, the father of the Gods, Zeus, was raised or maybe born.

On the north-western slopes of Mt. Psiloritis, at an altitude of almost 500 meters and approximately 23 km from the city of Rethymno,  is located the Monastery of Arkadi.  There are several routes you can take to reach the monastery, each of which offers a unique naturalistic and historical interest.

According to the tradition, the monastery of Arkadi was founded by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, while its construction was made by the Emperor Arcadius in the 5th century AD, from whom the monastery took its name. However, a scientific view submits that both the foundation and the naming of the monastery must have been due to a monk called Arkadios.

It is situated near the village with the same name, a few kilometers south of the city of Rethymno, on the road to Roussospiti. It is a very old monastery, which must have existed since the 14th century. However, at some point it was destroyed and then totally abandoned and deserted. Its renovation began in 1989 and since then the nuns with their intense activities have restored it to life.

Outside the village of Gerakari  in a distance of 41km from Rethymno, there is the temple  of Agios Ioannis Thelogos, dated back to the 13th century AD. It is a single-aisled church with a tiled roof and a cupola that was placed later. This church has a very interesting wall decoration.

In the village of Roustika that is located 21 km away  from Rethymno, in the area of Livadi, there is a two-aisled church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Christ the Savior.  This church is covered with murals which are dated back to 1381.  On the belfry there is the date “1627”.

In the village of Lambini, at a distance of 27 km on the road from Rethymno to Spili, there is the cross inscribed with a domed church of Panagia, with murals of the 12th and 14th century AD.  This is an Episcopal temple, as Lambini was the seat of the famous Bishop of Lambi that existed since 431 AD.

The Loggia, situated in the city center, was a magnificent building where the nobles used to meet and discuss political and economic issues. It was built in the 16th century according to the designs of the famous Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli. The well-preserved building has a square ground plan with three vaulted sides (the west side is not vaulted). It is built of regular sized stones and the projections of the cornice are impressive.

The famous Rimondi Fountain, which is now situated in Platanos Square, formerly in the center of the Venetian city, was built in 1626 by the city’s rector A. Rimondi. The water runs from three spouts in the shape of a lion’s head into three sinks. Three small, fluted columns, ornamented with Corinthian capitals are “standing” on the sinks. Above the capitals an entablature can be observed, the middle part of which displays four projections in the shape of the leaves of the acanthus exactly above the columns. In this section the words LIBERALITATIS and FONTES are inscribed.

Ήταν η εκκλησία μοναστηριού Φραγκισκανών Μοναχών. Εκτός από το ναό σώζονται και δύο παρεκκλήσια ακριβώς ανατολικά του. Εντυπωσιακό είναι το θύρωμα της εισόδου με κιονόκρανα σύνθετου ρυθμού.

During Venetian occupation the mosque Neratzes, which today is used as a music school, was the Augustinian church of the Holy Virgin. In 1657 the Turks transformed it into the mosque Gazi Housein or Neratze, and in 1890 they added a large minaret with two galleries, which was built with the famous stones of the Alfa village. The chapel of the Holy Virgin, situated at its west side and dedicated to the Body of Christ, was also transformed into a priestly seminary.

The village of Roussospiti, which is situated 6 km from Rethymno, boasts a variety of Venetian buildings such as the famous fountain, dating back to the 17th century. Gerola described it as “graceful” which is a right description if you notice it carefully. On both sides of the semi-circular concha a pair of small columns are situated, which support the architrave. The spout has the shape of a lion’s head.