Ι. Ναός Αγίας Αικατερίνης, πλατεία Αγίας Αικατερίνης, Ηράκλειο

The Church of Agia Aikaterini (St Catherine of the Sinaites), now the Museum of Christian Art, stands in central Heraklion, forming a triangle with the two churches of Agios Minas. Its first construction phase dates to the 13th century, with interventions in the second half of the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries. Built with exceptional care, much of the stone is dressed, with decorative stone carvings in selected places. The architectural type is a variation of the cross-vaulted church: an elongated nave covered by a semi-cylindrical vault, with a transverse section of lower height developing before the lower sanctuary. During Venetian rule (1211-1669) it was the katholikon of a major monastery dependent on the Sinai monastery. Under Ottoman rule it became a mosque, known as Zoulfiakar Ali Pasha. Today it houses representative works of the Cretan Renaissance, notably by Michael Damaskinos, along with ecclesiastical vessels, books, vestments and detached frescoes.