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Tour of the Town of Rethymno

Rethymno consists of two parts, the old and the new, the latter being an extension of the former towards the south. Since 1970, the town has also spread along the coast to the east, in the direction of the village Perivolia.

The town is carefully laid out, with multistory buildings and an adequate number of parks, but the seafront is largely hidden by large hotels.

The old town, however, has plenty of surprises for the visitor: Byzantine and Venetian churches side-by-side with minarets, arched passageways, Venetian mansions, Turkish fountains, narrow alleyways and old houses with heavy wooden doors and windows.

Also in the old town is the little Venetian harbor with its tall houses, vaulted shops and Turkish cannon mounted here and there.

As we walk through the old town, we will see – among other buildings – the Loggia, built in the sixteenth century. This is a fine, square Venetian structure, which was originally used as a meeting and recreation place for the local nobles and aristocrats. Now it houses the Archeological Museum.lo

The Fortezza, Rethymno’s fortress, stands on Palaiokastro hill to the north of the town. It was built in 1573 by Venetian commander Alviso Lando. Today only the walls have survived (restored), together with cisterns and a mosque with a huge dome: This was originally the Cathedral of St, Nicholas, which was converted by the Turks into a mosque.

The Rimondi fountain, on the north side of Petychaki Square, was erected in 1629 on the site of an earlier fountain by Rimondi, a governor of Rethymno.

Among other interesting buildings is the Bishopric, a neo-Classical structure with an absolutely symmetrical facade.

The Prefecture Building is also in the neo-Classical style; built in 1869, it has a large number of windows on two storeys. A Turkish school has survived mext to the church of St. Francis, a single-aisle wooden roofed basilica which was used as a poorhouse in the Turkish times, was restored in 1971 and impresses the visitor with its architecture and sculptural ornamentation.

The Church of Our Lady of the Angels dates from the closing period of the Venetian rule. It is also known as ‘Our Lady the Lesser’, and is located in the old town. Our Lady of the Angels in a three aisle church without a dome, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene by the Dominican order of monks.

The Cathedral of the Presentation of the Virgin, a new church modeled on the Church of the Annunciation on Tinos, has a fine carved wooden screen and good modern wall-paintings. I also preserves an outstanding portable Byzantine icon of Our Lady of Passion, unsigned and undated.