The Monastery of Archangel Michael Roukouniotis (Michailis) is one of the most important on the island. It is a fortified monastic complex older than Panormitis. Originally a cenobitic one, it preserves a unique architectural form with its two conventual churches, one above the other. The lower church was built in the 15th century, under the rule of the Knights of St John; the upper church dates from the 18th century. Since then, it was repeatedly repaired and restored until the 19th century. In the 18th century, it came into prominence through its charitable and educational work, which received special recognition and protection by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople.
The icons of Taxiarches (Leader of the Angels) and of the Hospitality of Abraham, executed by the renowned Cretan hagiographer Stylianos Genitis, as well as the frescoes of the upper church, by Symiot painter Gregory (1738), are fine examples of 17th century post-Byzantine painting.
