Venetian Heraklion

Venetian Loggia

The Archaeological Museum an the Palace of Knossos were all about the Minoans.  Long after the Minoans left, Crete was controlled at various times by the Byzantines, Ottomans, and Venetian empires. Architecturally speaking, the Venetians gave Heraklion some of it's best architecture.

Loggia inner courtyard

The Venetian Loggia was a place for meetings, recreation for dignataries, and generally for the prominent and wealthy citizens of what Venice referred to as Candia (Heraklion).  It was constructed between 1626 and 1628. Now housing the Heraklion City Hall, the building is actually a very accurate replica built starting in the 1960s.  The reconstruction received the Europa Nostra Award which recognizes outstanding heritage achievements.

Bembo Fountain

Bembo Fountain was built between 1552 and 1554 by Captain Gianmatteo Bembo who also built the first acqueduct to serve Heraklion.  It contains a headless female statue as well as a Venetian Coat of Arms. Unfortunately, it is no longer a working fountain.  The Morozini Fountain was built in 1629 by Francisco Morozini and is just a block or so away from the Loggia.  It has four lion heads in which water comes out the mouths,

Morozini Fountain

although they were not on when we saw it.  It does appear to still be a working fountain.

Finally, the largest Venetian structure we visited was the Rocco a Mare (Sea-Rock), the fortress which has guarded the port of Heraklion for centuries. Today, it's a lovely place to visit and see panoramic views of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea, but I can only imagine how imposing it seemed to sailors long ago.

Rocco a Mare