The city side of this gate had two entrances to vaulted passageways. The larger one on the left led directly to the southern provinces, whereas the military entrance on the right ran to the southern piazza bassa in the Pantocrator Bastion.
The Pantocrator is depicted in relief above the main arch, together with a Latin inscription reading OMNIPOTENS (Pantocrator), which is repeated in Greek characters in the same place on the outward facade. The monumental side, designed by Michele Sanmichele, features two symmetrically arranged vaulted entrances, both surrounded by alternating dark and white stone slabs and flanked by pilasters.
This gate is also known as the Chania Gate.
The Venetian Pantocrator Gate next to the Chania Gate, 2004 (photograph: Multimedia Lab)
The Venetian Pantocrator Gate as it was in the early 20th century. The Union Jack is flying to indicate the presence of British troops on the walls, 1900 (R. Behaeddin, Vikelaia Municipal Library, Heraklion)
