In the first half of the 16th century, the Velianites, fleeing from Veliani and pursued by the Turks, sought refuge in Paxos and purchased the islet of Panagia. Probably in the early 17th century, the ruined church on the island was granted to them, on top of which they built a church and monastery surrounded by a tall whitewashed wall. At the central entrance, there is a bell tower and a large inscription: "PANAGIA TON VELLIANITON" (Panagia of the Velianites). The present church, which is mentioned as old and ruined in the 1686 catalog, consists of two buildings: one built on the ruins of a pre-Christian cross-shaped church, and the second is a later addition.
around 1850, it was converted into a women's monastery and remained so until 1935. Next to the monastery, there is a domed water cistern. In the courtyard, there are the kitchens and the dining room. The icon of the Virgin Mary, brought from Vellianis in 1550 AD, after first being placed in Agios Spyridon, in the islet of Kaltsonisi, and then in the chapel of Agioi Anargyroi, is housed in the first building, to the left of the one entering the Monastery, i.e., in the separate area located to the right of the sanctuary. The icon of the Virgin is double-sided: on the front is the Dormition of the Virgin, and on the back is the icon of the Protector of the Island, St. Charalambos, surrounded by thirteen Prophets.
Next to the church, there is a lighthouse that has been operating since 1825, but already from 1776 the monks lit a lantern to keep the ships away. The new lighthouse is located on top of an ancient tower.
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