It is also an island with good natural harbors, a circumstance which has contributed much to its strong continuous cultural presence in Greece from the end of the 4th millennium BC to the present day. T he Archaeological Museum building, which has been declared a historical monument, was built in the period from 1600 to 1800, and is an impressive example of the architecture that developed on Naxos at the time of the island's prosperity during Frankish period. It is a five-storey structure and was built on the course of the Frankish fortification wall, incorporating two of the towers. It was designed to house a school of Jesuits, founded in the 17th c., and ultimately, in the late 19th c. - early 20th c., housed the famous commercial school, one of the pupils at which was Nikos Kazantzakis. It was later made over to the Archaeological Service and has been used to house the Museum since 1973.
Archaic sculpture is represented by a few important works.
Marble vase . Four gold plaques from a rich child burial at the cemetery at Kamini depicting the dead child. Torso of a naxian kouros . Detail of a mosaic floor from Aplomata depicting a Nereid on a bull. Dated to the roman period.