Greece · Music
Events in Rethymno, Greece
Each summer the Venetian Fortezza hosts the Renaissance Festival (since 1987); the Stagakis family has hand-made Cretan lyras here since 1945. Rethymno wraps live music into its Venetian old town. Every show on Mood.
Rethymno
Rethymno music scene
Rethymno's cultural life revolves around its Venetian Fortezza and the well-preserved old town below it. The Renaissance Festival, founded in 1987 and held each summer largely in the fortress's open-air Erofili Theatre - named after the tragedy by the Rethymno-born Cretan Renaissance poet Georgios Chortatzis - programmes early and classical music, theatre, dance, and commedia dell'arte performed through the old-town streets. The Erofili Theatre itself was inaugurated in 1993 and seats around 500.
Cretan tradition runs underneath it. The Stagakis family has hand-carved the pear-shaped, three-stringed Cretan lyra in the old town since 1945 - now into a third generation - and the lyra and laouto accompany sung mantinades in the tavernas. Rethymno also stages one of Crete's largest carnivals, when musicians stroll the town playing lyra and mandolin and kantada groups serenade the streets. Every concert and live show is on Mood.
Common questions
What is the Rethymno Renaissance Festival?
The Renaissance Festival, held each summer since 1987 in the Venetian Fortezza and its open-air Erofili Theatre, programmes early and classical music, theatre, dance and commedia dell'arte performed through the old-town streets. The programme is on Mood.
Where can I hear Cretan music in Rethymno?
The lyra and laouto accompany sung mantinades in the old-town tavernas, and the Stagakis family has hand-carved Cretan lyras in the old town since 1945. Live Cretan-music nights are listed on Mood.
When is the Rethymno Carnival?
The Rethymno Carnival - one of the largest in Crete - runs in the pre-Lenten winter weeks, with musicians strolling the town playing lyra and mandolin and kantada groups serenading the streets. Dates and events are on Mood.
