Jesus Gate (Kainourgia Porta)
Renaissance fortress gate with a plain outer face and a richly carved inner facade by Michele Sanmicheli.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Jesus Gate, or Kainourgia Porta, in Heraklion contrasts its bare, defensive outer face with the ornate carving Venetian engineer Michele Sanmicheli gave its inner side around 1587. It follows the gate's double life as an armory checkpoint and a hidden channel carrying spring water into the walled city, and touches on the twenty-one-year Ottoman siege of Candia that eventually ended Venetian rule. Listen for how the same passageway once meant for soldiers and gunpowder still stands at the heart of the old walls today.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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