Rethymno is a fully rich town of sightseeings, ideal to discover by walking.
In Rhetymno, during the Minoan age, there was a minoic settlement with chamber tombs cut into rock and clay pots.
It was an autonomous city where gold and silver coins were coined representing the head of Apollo, trident and dolphins. The site of the ancient town was attended during the Arab occupation (IX-X century BC). In the Venetian era a small fortified town was founded, Paleo Kastro (Castel Vecchio).
Beauties of the old town can be enjoyed by following some trails in the city. I started from …
Walls of Fortress
The walls of the lower town come from the sixteenth century. Despite the city’s original urban layout, there aren’t many rests. The main gate of the city, Guora, has some reliefs; then there are two secondary doors (Amnos and Squero). At each door there is a bastion: in Haghia Varvara’s house there were built the barracks of the Guard Army and some houses.
The fortress
The fortress was built on the northern hill of the city; it has a polygonal plant and four bulwarks. Not having a moat, it was easily attached from outside; moreover, no funds were provided for building a secure military fortress, also if inside it was well organized.
At the center there was a square with the residence of the commander and the cathedral. Guard bodies and cannons were in the southern area, while ammunition in the north wing. The most important buildings were the Mosquee Ibrahim Chan, the Episcopate, the artillery depot and the galleries. In front of the main door there was a pentagonal fort: prison in origin, today is the place of Archeological Museum.
Not far away it is the most important of the churches, St. Francis: with an interesting sculptural decoration and a Basilica with a nave, wooden roof and two chapels. Some public buildings such as the five mosques and three monumental churches date back to the Venetian times. On the north coast, near the village of Gherani, lies the homonymous cave.
Armeni Necropolis
About 8 km from Rethymno lies this necropolis whose excavation has not yet been completed. Over 200 well kept room tombs: this is due to the hard stone used (kouskouras) and to the fact they were made in groups. The ramparts of the road are made up of a dromos and funerary room.
The descent up to the entrance of the room was made through stairs carved into the stone; jambs, lintels and thresholds were carved and were blocked with precarious stones.
The rooms were circular; the big tombs also had a pillar in the center. The burials were made in stiff-necked sarcophagi. Among the most important rests we see bronze furnishings, seals and stone jewels. Highlighted lycopene larnakes, decorated with bipennials, hunting scenes and bulls. In addition, archaeologists have found 500 skeletons, decisive for tracing the health conditions and physical appearance of the Minoic Era.
Gherani’s Grotto
The cave has a beautiful lithic decoration and elephant bones have also been found. It consists of five successive rooms with rich decoration of stalagmites and columns. The rooms names are really curious: Room of Corals, Room of Chandeliers and so on.
The excavation proved that it was attended since the Palaeolithic, first as a burial site and then worship place. Among the most important tools we find pots, stone tools, animal and men skulls.
