Cretan Paths

After Constantinople was conquered by the Francs of the 4th Crusade, in 1204, Crete, along with Heraklion? was given to Bonifatius of Monferrat; this latter sold the island to the Venetians who took possession of the island in 1211 and keep it until 1669. During the first years of the Venetian domination Cretan people revolted several times against the conquerors, but from the 15th century onwards, revolts came to an end and a period of peace started for the island. As a result, Kastro or Chandax (Candia as the Venetians called it) knows a new period of development. It is in that times that the Venetians construct the big walls of the city with the 7 bastions, the castle of the port, the harbor as well as many public and private buildings and monuments. Along with the reconstruction of the city, there is a flourishing of the cultural life: painting (the so-called Cretan School of hagiographers, Domenico Theotocopoulos, "El Greco"), literature, poetry and above all theatre reach their peak, thus creating the special Cretan style which continued to develop until the city was conquered by the Ottomans.