Rethymno Venetian Loggia

Location: Town

The Venetian Loggia is a 16th-century building situated right in the center of the Old Town of Rethymno. It is a majestic square building with semicircular arches on three of the four sides, while the middle arch provides entrance to the ground level. 

The Loggia of Rethymno used to be the meeting place of the town’s noblemen, where they discussed economic and political issues. It also acted as a venue for many business transactions and entertainment shows for the Venetians.

The Loggia was built according to the plans of the well-known Veronese engineer Michele Sanmicheli. There are two statues on the west wall, while in 1625, an upper storey was added to the main building. It was converted into a mosque after the fall of Rethymno to the Turks, but the minaret built on the west side of the mosque was pulled down in 1930.

The Loggia is a few yards away from the Venetian harbor and it can be reached via a narrow passage that starts near the center of the port. At present, the Loggia belongs to the Ministry of Culture and is used to house the Archaeological Museum of Rethymno, which has been temporarily transferred to the church of Saint Francis. Nowadays, inside the Loggia, you will find a shop selling archaeological guides and faithful copies of renowned Greek sculptures.