A book entitled Neoria Chanion (Shipyards of Chania), containing research results and planning proposals for seven Venetian shipyard buildings on the old harbour in Chania, will be presented on Wednesday 20th September at the Megalo Arsenali (KAM) from 12:00 to 14:00 in the presence of the Minister for Culture Lina Medoni.
The publication of the book is the culmination of a process which began on 4th July 2020, when a “Cultural Development Programme Agreement” was signed between the Ministry of Culture, the Region of Crete, the Municipality of Chania and the Technical University of Crete. Since that day a team of historic preservation architects, geologists, geophysicists, chemists, and civil and mechanical engineers have been working together to deliver to the city plans for the seven vaulted buildings of the Neoria as accommodation for community activities.
The book Neoria Chanion presents in detail the results of the labours of the team of the Technical University of Crete and their external collaborators: the history of the shipyards’ construction, their relation to the overall defence of the city during the 16th century and up to 1645 – the year in which the city fell to the Ottomans – and their fate over the course of time. Included are the findings of the technological investigations relative to the building materials and the underlying ground, measurements of the structural behaviour of the individual parts, modelling of the supporting elements and analysis of the load-bearing capacity of the whole. Also described are the processes which led to the new proposal, the modern uses and the plans for new constructions to be approved under the iconic vaulted roofs.
The programme
11.45-12.00 Arrival
12.00-12.30 Words of welcome by
– the Mayor of Chania, Panagiotis Simandirakis
– the Regional Governor of Crete, Stavros Arnautakis
– the Rector of the Technical University of Crete, Michalis Zervakis
12.30-12.45 Speech by Lina Medoni, Minister for Culture
Presentation of the book
12.45-13.00 Elisabetta Molteni, Professor at Ca’ Foscari University, Venice: The historical record
13.00-13.15 Dimitris Filippidis, Professοr Emeritus, National Technical University of Athens: Restorations and reuse of monuments in the last 20 years in Greece
13.15-13.30 Nikos Skoutelis, Professor at the Technical University of Crete and scientific director of the project: New uses and constructions at the Venetian shipyards of Chania
13.30-14.00 Discussion
(Technical University of Crete)
The building of the Neoria
During the Venetian occupation of Crete (1204-1669), the need for a stronger presence on the island led the Venetians to construct a series of “Neoria” or covered dockyards where ships could be repaired during the winter. The first two Neoria were completed in 1526 and by 1599 seventeen of the buildings had been constructed. During the early years of the 17th century two more were completed, with a third remaining unfinished, at the east end of the harbour .
During the Turkish occupation the lack of maintenance work being carried out in the harbour led to their use as military storage sp,aces and 9 out of the original 17 were demolished. Today a continuous row of 7 vaulted buildings survives on the south side of the harbour, with two more at the east end, next to the premises of the Chania Sailing Club. The latter building was constructed around 2006 on the site of the third, unfinished Neoria building of which only the walls were originally completed.
The site of the demolished Neoria is now occupied by the Old Customs House, built during the period between the two World Wars, and the two squares on either side.
(www.chaniatourism.gr)