Fortezza Rethymno

The Fortezza rises above Rethymno from Paleokastro Hill, a height that had already served as the acropolis of the ancient city of Rhithymna. The Venetians began building the fortress in 1573, after a raid had destroyed much of Rethymno, and completed the defensive project later in the sixteenth century. Its star-like plan, gates, and bastions were designed for an era when artillery and gunpowder had changed the requirements of coastal defence.

The fortress was intended to protect the town and provide a secure refuge for its inhabitants. Within the walls stood administrative buildings, barracks, stables, ammunition stores, and a water reservoir. The scale of that plan reflected anxiety about another attack from the sea. Yet the site’s history did not end with Venetian rule. Under the Ottomans, the church of Saint Nicholas was converted into the mosque of Sultan Ibrahim Han, a change that remains visible in the building’s architecture.