The lion heads
Three marble heads pouring water since 1626.
C messier — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dietmar Rabich — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dietmar Rabich — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Uoaei1 — CC BY-SA 4.0
**The winged lion of Saint Mark** is the emblem of the Venetian Republic, because Mark the Evangelist is the city's patron and his symbol in Christian tradition is a lion. His relics were brought to Venice in the ninth century and the lion became the state's device. Wherever Venice ruled — Crete, Cyprus, the Balkans and the Adriatic coasts — **the lion was carved on gates, castles and fountains** as a statement of who governed. ⚠ In Crete many were removed or defaced after the Ottoman conquest and again after independence, so those that survive — like this fountain — are a direct trace of who owned the place.
**Early morning** — before seven or eight. The fountain stands in **Platanos Square**, which fills from mid-morning with café tables, chairs, parasols and people, making it hard to photograph without furniture in the way. Early on, the square is empty and the cafés have not yet put their tables out. ⚠ Evening is a handsome alternative with the lighting, but crowded. And the visit itself is **minutes**, so don't allot it time: pass it on a morning walk, and come back to sit in the evening if you like.
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A small Venetian fountain in a small square among the old town's lanes, one of the most photographed emblems of Rethymno — and **the water still runs**. The Venetian rector **Alvise Rimondi** built it in **1626** and carved his name on it, as was the custom. Its purpose was purely practical: **supplying the town with water**, a perennial problem in the coastal towns of Crete. Its form: three marble **lion heads** pouring water into basins, backed by Corinthian columns and a carved front. The lion is the emblem of Venice — the lion of Saint Mark — so putting it on the fountain was a **declaration of ownership** as much as a decoration. ⚠ Note that the columns look slightly mismatched: some were added in later restorations, and a dome that stood above it in the Ottoman period was removed. ⚠ It is **very small** — a visit of minutes. But it stands in **Platanos Square**, the heart of the old town, so you will pass it regardless.
Three marble heads pouring water since 1626.
The old town's heart, with its cafés and radiating lanes.
Mismatched columns and a removed Ottoman dome — visible history.
Platanos Square, Old Town, 74100 Rethymno