Medieval Heraklion and the Historical Museum of Crete

This tour begins at the most important Medieval fortification network of the entire Mediterranean Sea. The walls of Chandax (Latinized as Candia, the former name of Heraklion) were built in the 16th century when Crete was still under Venetian domination; designed by Michele Samischeli, a military architect and urban planner from Verona (and possibly the only architect who had studied Greek architecture), they stretched for c. four kms and featured seven great bastions, four main gates, several side gates, underground tunnels, and a gun powder room. We will walk the most important parts of the walls, enjoying the waterfront and stopping along the way at historical monuments and churches that identify the impressive Greco-Venetian character of the city. The tour will end at the Historical Museum of Crete (a neoclassical building of significant architectural merit), whose three floors of permanent and special exhibits illuminate 18 centuries of Cretan history (from the 4th century AD), including two original paintings by El Greco and a collection of literary memorabilia of famous native-son Nikos Kazantzakis.

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