The Rimondi fountain, built in the 1620s and named after the then rector of Rethymnon, still supplies water to the thirsty passerby, and is a superb piece of architecture. The Venetian Fortezza – built by Michele Sanmicheli, towards the end of the 16th century – is perhaps not quite as well preserved as the one at Chania, but is still a splendid example of Venetian building at its best (and unlike Chania where according to Robert Pashley the Venetian lighthouse “fell down” in 1834, Rethymnon’s survives to this day). The walls are inclined at 20 degrees to allow cannonballs to ricochet off them, but the city was surrendered to the Turks in 1646, after ‘only’ 45 days (compare this to the siege of Herakleion, which was to last more than 21 years – the longest in European history).
Enetiki Krini Rimondi, Pl. Titou Ptixaki, Rethymno 741 00, Greece
