⭐ Travel Guide for Island Crete ⛵, Greece❗

The Venetian Candia, i.e. the current town of Heraklion, had no water sources and its residents used wells and cisterns for storing rainwater. The general commissioner of Crete, Francesco Mozozini, tried to give a definitive end to this drought by building a colossal project, 15 kilometers long, for transfering water from the springs of mount Youchtas.

The terrain of the region required the construction of the aqueducts at Karydaki, Syllamos, Fortezza and Tris Kamares (today's Eleftherias Square) and other technical projects. The water from the sources of Giouchtas area was dumped into the water channel and with natural flow crossed the aqueducts in the area of Sylamos and Fortezza and ended in the famous Fountain of the Lions.

The project took only 14 months to complete and was inaugurated on April 25, 1628, on the feast day of Saint Mark, the patron of Venice and operated till 1927. This project was so important, that Morosini minted special coins depicting Zeus pouring water from Youktas Mountain. Nobody was allowed to plant trees at a distance of 10 feet, so as not to damage the channel.

Morozini Fountain

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The fountain of Morozini (known as Lions) is one of the nicest Venetian monuments of Candia (current Heraklion). The fountain was watered by the spring of Karidaki and the watered traveled about 15km in a gigantic aqueduct, one of the longest in the then world.

Karydaki Aqueduct

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Here we meet the imposing Venetian aqueduct of Morosini at position Karydaki, which crosses the river that runs through Sylamos Gorge and ends at Knossos. If you cross the bridge you can visit the ruined church of Panagia Karydakiani monastery, on the opposite site.

Silamos Aqueduct

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Inside the ravine formed northeast to Silamos village, we meet the traces of the second-in-row bridge of the colossal Venetian aqueduct of Morozini. The aqueduct transferred the water of the springs of Archanes to Candia, the current town of Heraklion. Unfortunately, almost nothing is preserved from the bridge.

Fortetsa aqueduct

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It is one of the aqueducts of the 15km long Venetian aqueduct starting from Archanes and carrying water to the Fountain of Lions, in the center of Heraklion. There is one emblem and an inscription at the central part of the bridge.

Morozini

Morozini Fountain

Karydaki Aqueduct

Silamos Aqueduct

Fortetsa aqueduct

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