It is the most characteristic monument of Thessalonica and the absolute trademark of the city. The White Tower, located on the old beach, was constructed in the middle of the 5th century A.D. replacing an old byzantine tower that was already in ruins. It was erected near the end of the fortification walls, next to the sea. Even though it is the city’s most beloved monument, its history throughout the centuries is rather dark. We know little of the circumstances under which it was constructed, but the building technique and the cutting-edge design allowing for the use of weapons makes it fairly obvious that the architects, if not the construction workers as well, must have been Venetian. For a long time it was used as a prison for convicts facing the death penalty. Today it hosts an exhibition of Christian artefacts, including objects that date back to the period between 300 A.D. and 1430, mostly coming from Thessalonica. The exhibition is evenly distributed among the different floors. On the ground floor you will find coins and mosaic floors, mainly from the 5th or 6th century A.D.
On the first floor there are fragments of frescos, statues and silver caskets. On the second floor, which comprises an independent thematic unit dedicated to the afterlife, there are grave steles, jewellery, cloth fragments, glass vessels and other funeral gifts, all coming from graves. On the third floor you will find relief icons, ecclesiastical vessels, coins e.t.c. Last but not least, the fourth floor hosts an exhibition of monumental paintings from the byzantine period.