Rethymnon during the Venetian occupation hosted a large number of churches, the number varying according to sources, from 23 to 46. Most temples were Christian Orthodox, few of them are preserved today, and many were turned into mosques during the Ottoman era. The oldest surviving Christian temples are Agia Paraskevi, which today houses the Institute of Mediterranean Studies of the Foundation of Technology and Research, and Agia Sophia, used by the Ministry of Culture.
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Mosque of Kara Mousa Pasha 
The Mosque of Kara Musa Pasha in Rethymnon was named after the admiral of the Turkish occupation forces of Rethymnon in the year 1646. The monastery of Saint Barbara was operating there from the Venetian occupation, from which nothing survives. The mosque belongs to the Ottoman architectural type of cesme, with a four-sided vaulted tank and two main facades.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Great Holy Virgin (Megali Panagia) in Rethymnon is dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin Mary (feast 21st November), Three Hierarchs and the Holy Apostles.
The neoclassical church of Agios Antonios in the old town of Rethymnon belongs to the Catholic doctrine. It was built in 1890, as the inscription states at the entrance, and was built to meet the needs of the city's Catholic Christians. The cathedral dedicated to Saint Francis served as a workhouse.
The present church of the Lady of the Angels or Mikri Panagia (Little Virgin Mary) to the east of the Old Town of Rethymnon, in contrast to the Megali Panagia (Great Virgin), that is, the Rethymno metropolitan church, was built in the last years of the Venetian rule and was dedicated to Mary Magdalene of the Dominican Order.
At the corner of streets Koroneou and Smyrnis in Rethymnon was the church of Hagia Sophia, probably a 16th-century building. It was a two-storey church with a united interior space covered by two sturdy domes, used today by the Ministry of Culture.
The mosque of Turhan Hatice still dominates with its imposing minaret next to the Great Gate (Guora Porta) of Rethymnon old town, though it is enclosed by several modern buildings. Turhan Hadice belonged to the sultan Ibrahim's harem (1640-1648) and became a Valide sultan in 1648 when her son, Mehmet D, became sultan.
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