Venetian Walls of Heraklion

Heraklion since the years of the First Byzantine Period (330-840 AD) had fortifications are completed by both the Arab conquerors (840-961 AD) and Byzantine (961-1204 AD ) and then by the Venetians in 1211 AD The looming threat of the Turks but forced Venice to fortify the most modern way to time the capital of the Regno di Candia. The form of the fortifications that we see today is based on the plans of engineer M. Sanmicheli and built in the period 1462-1560 approximately. The main wall was three kilometers long and had four gates and seven ramparts surrounded by a large moat and the outer side of the rampart which had not survived today. The fortifications of Heraklion considered both in terms of size but also the aesthetic and functional perfection of the major eastern Mediterranean.