Fortezza, Rethymno

The Venetian citadel of Fortezza is built atop the hill of Paleokastro, in the western part of the modern city of Rethymno. On this hill, there used to be the acropolis of the ancient city of Rhithymna and the sanctuary of Artemis Rokkaia. The carvings traced on various spots on the hill attest to the existence of the acropolis on the rock.  The settlement was probably situated near the port. However, there is no evidence about the form of the settlement, nor about the form of the acropolis or the sanctuary. The Fortezza was constructed between 1573 and 1580 by the Venetians to safeguard the city from the Turkish menace. It is star-shaped, and has three gates and six bastions. They chose to be built on the hill of Paleokastro, because it offers an endless view of both the land and sea. Its walls have a total length of 1,307 metres. To complete it, it took 76,800 labours of residents from the entire prefecture and it was constructed using simple rectangular stones by the master builder G. Skordilis.