Phaistos Palace Crete

When you say Crete you immediately think of the majestic  Knosso Palace, but it is not the only chapter of ancient history to see during your holidays in Greece, even if less mentioned but still of considerable importance is the Phaistos Palace (in Greek Φαιστός) which is located in the Messara plain in the central southern part of the island about 55 kilometers from Heraklio near the village of Matala and Agia Galini a few kilometers from the sea.

Crete, temple of the Minoan civilization made up of myths, legends and real events that have given a distinct imprint to the course of the past and that has allowed its evolution to the present day.

Unlike his brother Knossos, the Palazzo di Festo has not undergone any reconstruction, everything that can be admired is part of the original world and its authenticity gives that aura of mystery that will make your imagination gallop when you set foot on its internal.

Inhabited since the Neolithic period, it developed in the first half of the 2nd century BC becoming the main route for trade with Egypt and Asia Minor with the seaport in the port of Matala. Festus was the second most important city of Crete in the Minoan period and the legend tells that Radamante was the brother of King Minos and son of Zeus the governor. Its dating dates back to 1900 BC.

Its discovery took place in 1850 while excavations began in 1884 by the archaeologists Antonio Taramelli, Federico Halbherr and Luigi Pernier, bringing to light sumptuous palaces, polychromatic ceramics from the Kamares style, a particular painting technique where only the colors of red were used, the white, yellow on a black background with marine or plant representations. The name Kamares derives from a locality of the island and precisely a cave of Mount Ida in the center of Crete. In 1908 the prestigious discovery by Pernier of the Phaistos Disc dating back to the second millennium BC with a diameter of 15 cm with 241 spiral inscriptions whose meaning still remains a real mystery even if it is hypothesized that it may be linked to religious rites or of magic. Here too there are discordant opinions where some say it is a fake but we prefer not to listen and believe that it was part of something that has remained in history.

The remains of the first palace of the sixteenth century BC are located at the very beginning of the entrance towards the central courtyard once closed by a colonnade and warehouses. Now it is a large open space where there are the remains of the staircase that led to the palace but it was once the hub of the city where social, economic, religious and political activities took place with private houses with large balconies, all with a fantastic view over the plain of Messara with its olive trees, the sea and Mount Ida, the highest mountain on the island of Crete.

The second palace destroyed by a fire in the fourteenth century BC instead had terraces around the courtyard where the royal apartments were located, the state rooms and where the first theater in the world seems to have been built.

The dawn of the city of Phaistos ends at the beginning of the Hellenistic period when a city of the Roman Empire in the Chania area was conquered by Gortyna.

An archaeological site to visit absolutely, to understand even better the Minoan civilization and discover which piece of Crete not so famous or beaten by mass tourism that offers enchanting places and where you can still breathe the atmosphere of lost times. The site is open every day from 8.30 to 17.00 tel. +30 2810288445

Take an alternative route during your visit to the island, mark it in the things to see in Crete, you will be pleasantly surprised.

The site is open every day from 8.30 to 17.00 tel. +30 2810288445.