Palace of the Venetian Commissioner

Palace of the Venetian Commissioner. MEΓAPO BENETOY ΠPONOHTH. This building is not preserved (it was damaged by the bombs placed by Germans in 1943 and was subsequently demolished). It was the most important Venetian monument of the Old Fort. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1743 and was rebuilt in 1753 according to an inscription that was on its façade. It was located in front of the small square formed after the bridge on the Land moat, at a higher level than the bridge due to the inclination of the ground. , The level of the ground floor was accessed by means of an external stone stairway, leading to a large threshold-balcony supported by a row of arches, a construction still preserved . It was a three-storey building and its ground plan had an irregular shape. The façade was symmetrically arranged with arched and rectangular openings set in elegant stone frames. On the second floor there were balconies with elegant parapets formed by small columns; the central one resembled the main entrance, following Renaissance models. At the rear part of the building a large cistern with stone mouth and the ground floor of the Commissioners' Secretariat building, used as a prison, are preserved. Further to the north there was a small church (possibly the chapel of the palace), next to the position of the bell-tower and clock. During the British Occupation the palace was first used as the residence of the Commissioner (before the palace in the Spianada was constructed), then housed the Ionian Academy and finally, in 1840 it was used as the residence of the British military commander.