This is a painting of a crumbling Venetian-era doorway we found in the Old Town district of Rethymno on the Greek island of Crete. We visited in February of 2020 during our last trip before the pandemic struck. Rethymno was our favourite city in Crete, with very friendly people and incredible food.

The island of Crete was part of the Republic of Venice as the Kingdom of Candia between the early 1200s and the late 1600s. Some of the architecture from this era, such as the harbours in Chania and Rethymno, and old mansions like this one scattered through the old town areas, still exists. Sadly much of it is now in a precarious state and could use restoration before it is lost forever.

I spent some time attempting to decipher the Latin phrase above this doorway. To the best of my ability I could only guess that it reads ovi sperat in deo sublev abitur and may mean something similar to: "an egg trusts in God to pass easily".