MUSEUMS
The Archeological Museum of Heraklion is one of the largest museums in Greece and one of the most important in Europe. Considered the museum of Minoan culture par excellence, it houses many masterpieces of the Minoan art, such as pottery, carved and metal objects and small sculptures retrieved from excavations in sights of Minoan civilization in the central and eastern part of Crete. Also, representative items from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history are exhibited in the museum.
The Historical Museum of Heraklion houses a large collection of objects with historic value (documents, icons, sculptures, coins etc), deriving from early Christian times on to the present day. Visitors of the museum will have the chance to admire two paintings of the world-famous painter El Greco.
In the Museum of Ecclesiastic Arts you can find a representative collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine Cretan art, such as icons, manuscripts, vessels and paintings. The museum is housed in the church of Agia (Santa) Aikaterini of Sinai, which was an important cultural center of the island during times of Venetian occupation (13th – 17th century AD).
The Natural History Museum of Crete is a pioneer institute run by the University of Crete that consists of five departments and aims to the protection and promotion of the special ecological features of the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Nikos Kazantzakis Museum is located 40km south of Koutouloufari and is dedicated to the great Cretan author, intellectual and philosopher.
The Agricultural Museum of Piskopiano is housed in a renovated olive oil-factory and assembles a collection of local traditional items, mainly from the agricultural and farming life of the past century.
Almost 3km east from Koutouloufari, Lychnostatis Open-Air Museum of Folklore is found, for those who want to familiarize with Cretan tradition and cultural heritage.
CretAquarium lies 8km west of Koutouloufari. Harboring hundreds of species and thousands of living organisms, CretAquarium promises you an exciting journey to the Mediterranean marine world.
