In Sabbionara bastion there is one of the three beach gates – the second one is in the bastion of Saint Andrew and the third one is in the bay of Dermatas. The Venetians originally called it “Mikro Martinengo” (Little Martinengo), after the name of the commander Girolamo Martinengo. Then the name Sabionara, the “Gate […]

A long road, the Strada Larga or Strada Imperiale or Strada Larga di Panigra – also known as the broad alley- centuries later would be the current Kalokairinou Avenue. This leads to the western side of the Venetian fortification where one of the main gates of the city opens. The Pantocrator Gate, as it is

One of the two most powerful bastions of the city is Martinengo, which was named after Gabriele Tandini di Martinengo, the distinguished Venetian military engineer and successful officer who in 1519 took over the general supervision of the fortifications of Crete. The bastion’s military gate is known as the Martinengo Gate or Makasi Gate –

According to the Italian historian and scholar of Venetian Crete, Joseph Guerola, Jesus Gate is the “most beautiful gate of Chandakas (Chandax)”. It is a public gate that owes its name, like its bastion, to a small church dedicated to Christ that once stood nearby. It was through this gate that those heading for the

The Gate of Dermata was opened on the coastal front of the fortification, between the San Andrea bastion and the Sabbionara bastion. It was also called Giudecca or Judaica or Jewish Gate because it was adjacent to the leather craft industries of Chandaκas and also because the Jewish quarter was near. Dermatas Gate was completed

Vitturi Gate or the “Provveditore Generale Gate” is located on one of the most powerful bastions of Chandakas, the Bastion of Agios Eleftherios which took its name from a small church nearby. It was named after the Provveditore Generale (General Intendant of Crete) Giovanni Vitturi whose coat of arms was placed in the corner of

The Bethlehem bastion was named after a small church of Virgin Mary of Bethlehem built in the fields, outside the wall. The bastion was served by the two military gates of the same name, the North and the South. The city-side façade of the North Bethlehem Gate stands out for its elaborate design, reminiscent of

Saint George Gate was built on the northern side of the Vitturi bastion between 1562 and 1566 and is an urban gate. It was designed by Giulio Savorgnan, the genius military engineer and architect who was in charge of the new enclosure of Chandakas. Its entrance, on the city side, is particularly elaborate. Above the

During the last years of the siege of the Venetian-occupied Chandakas (Chandax), the coastal wall, which was the weakest part of the fort walls, was fiercely attacked by the Turks. In 1669, Ottoman conquerors invaded the city by entering this part of the walls after the surrender of the city. The San Andrea bastion, which

In 1980, following a proposal by Manos Hatzidakis and according to the designs by Dionysis Fotopoulos, a Small open-air Garden Theatre was built, right behind the large open-air garden theatre, at the piazza bassa (lit. “Low square”) of the Gate of Jesus. It was recently named after the great Greek composer. It is a prefabricated