When Crete was conquered in 1211, Venice established in Candia (Heraklion) the administrative center of the island. The importance which the Venetians paid to the city becomes evident by the fact that Candia was the first town they conquered and the last they abandoned to the hands of the Ottomans, four hundred and fifty years later, after a fierce resistance that lasted 21 years.

The impressive economical, demographic and urban growth turned the small provincial byzantine port into one of the most important trade centers of the Mediterranean. The older fortifications of the city were reinforced during the 15^th c. Yet, the invention of the gun powder and the use of cannons forced the Venetians to design a new, larger and more effective defensive zone, reinforced with bastions. These new fortifications were meant to protect the city during the Ottoman siege.

The urban development was decisively affected by the fortification zones. The first urban core was developed inside the older defensive zone and the city’s administrative center occupied the area from the main south gate (Porta Maestra) and along the main street (Ruga Maistra) which connected the gate to the port. The city was organized on the basis of the Venetian archetypes, with large public buildings, a large number of churches and monasteries, luxurious domestic residences and imposing fountains. Around the central square, la Piazza dei Signiori or the Square of the Lords, were situated the Palace of the Duke of Crete, the ducal church of Saint Marc, the Palace of the General Commander, the Palace of the Admiral and the Club of the Noblemen (Loggia). A few meters to the North there was the catholic archbishopric church of Saint Titus. In the center of the Cereal Square (Piazza delle Biade), which took its name from the large warehouse to the South, commander Francesco Morosini constructed in 1628 the famous fountain that bears his name.

Of the numerous catholic and orthodox churches mentioned by the written sources, only few survived or were revealed in ruins. Among the catholic churches that survived almost intact one can list the church of Saint Peter of the Dominicans, Saint John the Baptist of the Franciscans and Virgin Mary of the Crusaders. Only a small part of the imposing church of Saint Francis of the Franciscans has survived under the building of the Archeological Museum. The few orthodox churches that have been preserved are Saint Catherine, Saint Anastasia, Saint Onouphrios, Saint Mathew and Pantanassa (actually the south aisle of the old metropolitan church of Saint Menas).