Kerasia Village

Kerasia is approx. 18 km south of Heraklion. It is a small proud Cretan village in the Heraklion prefecture, surrounded by other villages namely Venerato, Avgeniki & Siva. There are different ideas as to how Kerasia got its name. There are also two spellings. Kerassia and Kerasia. Some believe it comes from the word for cherry tree – which is the same word. Others say it comes from the Greek verb kerno which means ‘to offer’. The village sits at the foothills of Mt Psiloritis, in a gently sloping valley. It is a small agricultural village busy producing sultanas, grapes and olive oil, and is surrounded by orchards and gardens, with mandarins, lemons, walnuts and lots of other fruit and vegetables. The village is situated just up from the national road and with close access to both Heraklion and Messara, it has been on the trade routes of the island for many years. The first notation of the village dates back to 1583.