Perched atop Paleokastro hill, the Fortezza of Rethymno stands as a monumental vestige of Venetian military ingenuity and a witness to Crete’s turbulent history. Built as a formidable defense against Turkish pirates, its foundations were laid with the toil of over 100,000 Cretans and the labor of more than 40,000 pack animals, between 1540 and 1570. The hill’s name, translating Read more…