On the eastern side of the Piazza dei Signiori stands the three-aisled timber-roofed basilica which was devoted to St. Marc and was built to fulfill the religious needs of the Duke and the Venetian authorities. The original building, which was founded in 1239, was reconstructed after the earthquake of 1304 and has been repeatedly restored, especially during the 16^th c. After the fall of Candia to the Ottomans, the church was granted by the Grand Vizier Fazil Ahmet Paşa Köprülü to the defterdar Ahmet Paşa and was turned into a mosque, which functioned until 1915. Then the building was undertaken by the National Bank and subsequently by the municipality of Heraklion. The city council hired the building to a civilian who turned it to a cinema under the name Minoa. During the German seize the monument was turned into a warehouse. Finally, in 1956 the Society of Cretan Historical Studies took over the restoration of the church in its present condition.