The location of the town at about 450 meters originally offered protection from pirate attacks and the malaria that was rampant on the coast at that time.
In the 19th century, there were hardly any pirate attacks and more and more people spent the winter on the coast and only the malaria-prone summer months in Palea Peritheia.
The town was gradually abandoned in the 1960s after the risk of malaria on the Greek islands had been averted and tourism provided jobs on the coast.
[1] The village is promoted as the abandoned place Palea Perithia (Παλαιά Περίθεια) and is now a tourist attraction.
Particularly worth seeing is the church of Agios Iakovos o Persis at the entrance to the village, which was built in the 14th century and contains remarkable frescoes.