Arkadi Monastery sits on a plateau on Mount Ida's northwest side, about 1,600 feet (500 m) above sea level, in the Rethymno region of Crete. The article does not name the architect, though the facade invites comparison with Serlio and Palladio. Construction under the hegumen Klimis Hortatsis is believed to have begun in 1562 and taken about 25 years. The facade was built in 1586, the clock inscription is dated 1587, and the church was inaugurated between 1590 and 1596. The article gives the style as Renaissance Revival, with Roman and Baroque elements.
The church is a two-nave basilica with four pairs of Corinthian columns on its front. The enclosure walls surround about 56,000 square feet (5,200 m²).
Looters destroyed the altar in 1645. During the Ottoman assault of 1866, the church was torched and its icons destroyed, and the powder magazine was largely destroyed.
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