he  present-day Moni Gonias (Monastery of Our Lady of Gonia), built between 1618 and 1634 and located in the village of Kolymbari, at the south-east end of the Rodopos Peninsula,  is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin (celebrated on August 15). Like many other late monasteries on Crete, it shows Venetian  influences in design and decoration.  The monastery replaced an older, 13th-century structure, which was located on the territory of an adjacent cemetery.  Moni Gonias was heavily damaged by the Turks in 1645, 1652, 1822, 1841, and 1867.  That last attack is commemorated by a cannon ball lodged in the monastery wall (ill. 8).  The fountain in front of the monastery's entrance (ill.  5) was built in 1708 and the imposing belfry (ill.  4, 7) in 1849.  Today, the monastery houses some important 15th and 17th-century Cretan icons by Parfenios, Ritzos, and Neilos.