Saint Mark Basilica

The Municipal Gallery of Heraklion is hosted in the Basilica of Saint Mark in the center of Heraklion, just opposite the famous Lions’ fountain. The basilica was built by the Venetians in 1239, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1303 but restored immediately, in 1669 it was converted into a mosque and in 1956 it returned to its current state.

The gallery hosts mainly periodic exhibitions by various artists from Crete and throughout Greece, but at times there are permanent works of local painters (Thomas Fanourakis, Lefteris Kanakakis Georgios Georgiadis, Aristodimos Papadakis, Maria Fioraki) that have been donated to the gallery.