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.

The Venetian Harbor Of Rethymnon

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.

The Venetian Loggia In Rethymnon

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 Fortezza Of Rethimnon

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.

The Rimondi Fountain

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

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-aisled 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.

A Typical Street in Rethymnon

The Church of Our Lady of the Angels dates from the closing period of the Venetian rule. It is aloso known as ‘Our Lady the Lesser’, and is located in the old town. Our Lady of the Angels in a three aisled church withouth 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.

Museums in Rethymno

The Archeological Museum, housed in the Loggia (on the corner of Katechaki and Himara Streets) has a collection of exhibits covering the period from the Neolithic era to the Turkish times (tel. 29975, 20668).

The L. Kanakakis Arts Gallery and Centre for Contemporary Art has works by the painter Lefteris Kanakakis and a collection of 45 paintings by other Greek artists dating from the period after 1950 (corner of Himara and Ioannou Melissinou Streets (tel.21847).

The Historical and Folklore Museum of Rethymno was founded in a building belonging to the Lyceum at 18 Mesolongiou St. The collection was founded in 1963 and consists of embroidery, woven goods, wood-carvings, local costumes, pottery and utensils (tel. 29572).

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