CRETE TRAVEL GUIDE

Crete Travel Guide
Byzantine church and also a Hellenistic town, the latter
an important seaport when the Romans ruled Crete.
➤ Map D4
A Morning in Irakleio
1
Porta Kenouria
The most appropriate place to start exploring
Irakleio’s Venetian heritage is this ornate archway through
the city’s mighty walls, built in the mid-16th century by
the Italian military engineer Michele Sanmichele. At this
point, the walls are some 40 m (130 ft) thick, so it is not
surprising that they withstood 16th-century Ottoman
artillery and everything else thrown at them.
2
Pumphouse and Fountain
Walk through the portal and along Evans, named
after the excavator of ancient Knosos, to Plateia
Kornarou, named after the writer of the Cretan epic poem
the Erotokritos . In the middle of this square stands a
pretty, six-sided stone building, a café set within a
pumphouse built by the Turks. Stop here, if you like, for
a coffee in the shade of plane trees. Beside the café is
the Venetian Bembo Fountain – note the broken,
decapitated marble torso of a Roman statue built into its
stonework.
3 Market
Leave Plateia Kornarou
north of the fountain, along
the market street Odos
1866, among stalls selling
fresh fruit, olives, dried fruit
and nuts, and less familiar
produce such as buckets of
live snails. Midway along 1866, turn left and walk along
to Plateia Ekaterinis, where the main landmark is the
pompous 19thcentury cathedral.
Agia Ekaterini
At the foot of the
square, and more interesting
than the cathedral, is this
church which in the 16th
century was one of the great
schools of Cretan icon
painting. Today it houses the
world’s best collection of Cretan icons.
➤ 8:30am–1:30pm Mon–Sat, & 5–7pm Tue, Thu, Fri •
Adm
5
Plateia Venizelou
Leave Plateia Ekaterinis by its northwest corner,
and walk east to Plateia Nikoforou Foka, then left to
Plateia Venizelou. The Morosini fountain stands in the
middle of the square, with two stone lions standing
sentinel.
6
San Marco and the Loggia
On the southeast side of the square, the former
Venetian Cathedral of San Marco, dedicated to Venice’s
patron saint, became a mosque and is now an exhibition
centre and conference hall. Leave the square by 25
Augoustou and walk past the Loggia. If this Venetian
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4
town hall looks suspiciously modern, blame restoration
after earthquake and bomb damage.
7
Agios Titos
Turn right immediately after the Loggia to find Agios
Titos (St Titus). Originally Byzantine, the church was
rebuilt by the Venetians, turned into a mosque by the
Turks and reclaimed by the Orthodox church in 1925.
Inside, a reliquary contains the skull of St Titus.
➤ 9am–5pm daily • Free
8
Historical Museum
Returning to 25 Augoustou, turn left onto
Theotokopoulou, then left onto Gazi, which leads to the
Historical Museum of Crete. The basement contains
some interesting Venetian stonework, Turkish and
Byzantine remnants and the only El Greco painting left
in Crete.
➤ 9am–5pm Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri; 9am–2pm Tue & Sat
• Adm
Venetian Fortress
Built in 1523–40 to
guard the harbour
approaches, the massive
Rocca al Mare, as it was
known to the Venetians,
served its purpose well. Piles
of cannonballs in the inner
chambers seem to await another assault.
➤ 8:30am–3pm Tue–Sat, 10am–3pm Sun • Adm
9
10
Venetian Arsenal
(Arsenali)
On your way back from the
fortress, you will see a series
of high stone vaults built into
the wall behind the harbour.
These were the Arsenali or
shipyards where the great
galleys were built that gave Venice its control of the sea.
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History and Culture