From the 15th century onwards, expansion of the town beyond the early Venetian walls and the increasingly apparent threat posed by the Ottoman Turks created the need for new, strong fortifications to encompass the suburbs.

Thus in 1462 Venice set about planning and constructing the imposing new enceinte around Candia. The project was carried out in phases, and took almost two centuries to complete.

The new fortifications with their beetling bastions and monumental gates are a representative example of the art of defence, and to this day remain one of the most important monuments of their kind in the Mediterranean.

Plan der Festung Candia (Plan of the Chandax enceinte) by Generallieutenant Hans Rudolf Werdmûller, 1666 - 1668 (Hans Rudolf Werdmûller, Historical Museum of Crete, © S.C.H.S, Heraklion)