Museum of Visual Arts

關於

The Basilica of Saint Mark (Greek: Βασιλική του Αγίου Μάρκου; Italian: Basilica di San Marco), also known as Hagios Markos (Greek: Άγιος Μάρκος), is a former Roman Catholic basilica, located in the center of the city of Heraklion, Crete, in Greece. Situated in the Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, the structure was built in 1239, during the Venetian rule of the island, and was primarily used by the local lords and officials of the island.

After the Ottoman conquest of Crete in 1669, it was converted into a mosque, named as the Defterdar Ahmet Pasha Mosque (Greek: Δεφτερδάρ Αχμέτ Πασά Τζαμί, Turkish: Defterdar Ahmet Paşa Camii), in honour of its founder, Ahmet Pasha. The building was used as a mosque until 1915.

The building was restored after 1956 and was repurposed as a public art gallery. It is one of the few former Roman Catholic churches standing in Crete. Architecturally, it is a three-aisled basilica church with an elevated central nave, built in the Gothic style. It has a portico on the western façade entrance. At various stages it has had a bell-tower and a minaret; however, both are no longer extant.

內容改寫自 Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。照片來自 Wikimedia Commons.