Building
The exact date that the building was constructed is unknown although it was mentioned in writing as standing during the great earthquake of 1595 and being the largest in the city. It served as a Venetian church inhabited by Franciscan monks, and became an important monument of the city.
During the period of the Ottoman occupation, the building was used as a mosque and named after Yussuf Pasha, the conqueror of Chania. At the turn of the 19th to 20th century it became the “Idaion Andron” Cinema and after World War II it served as a storehouse for military equipment, until it was converted into the museum in 1962. The archaeological collection of Chania itself was formerly housed in various public buildings such as the Residency, the Boys’ High School, and the Hassan Mosque.
In May 2008, the Crete Gazette announced that a new museum building is due to be constructed in the Chatzidakis Camp in the historical Chalepa area of Chania overlooking the sea. The modern building, designed by Theofanis Bobotis, who also designed the Patras Museum, will cover 6,500 square meters, including 1,800 square meters for exhibition halls, 140 square meters for the gallery and a 140-seat amphitheatre. The new archaeological museum of Chania will also include interior and open-air exhibition areas, skywalks, a shop, a cafeteria and other visiting rooms.
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Portrait bust of a Roman man
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Roman emperor Hadrian
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Roman floor mosaic depicting Dionysos and Ariadne
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Late Minoan sarcophagus, 1400-1200 BC.
Read more about this topic: Archaeological Museum Of Chania
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