The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of RHODES in GREECE Rhodes is an island in the Aegean Sea, the largest of the Dodecanese Island complex, in Greece . Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The ancient city of Rhodes is divided into two parts: the Old City, or medieval and the New City. The Old City is surrounded by strong walls and is one of the biggest and best preserved Medieval settlements of Europe. It has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site . This fortified medieval city is full of buildings testifying about the past and the history of the island, from the antiquity, the Byzantine times, the middle Ages to Turkish rule. There are 11 gates to access the old city. Some of them are ancient, some are modern.
Gate of of Saint Paul Gate of Saint Athanasiou Gate of Saint John Gate d'Amboise
Gate d’Amboise The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is a 14th-century castle standing on the site of a 7th-century Byzantine fortress. It is a square building designed around a large courtyard with impressive towers, massive walls, and elaborate decorative elements, and it is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece.
Liberty Gate
From 1309 to 1522, the Knights of St. John, a Christian military organization, ruled the island of Rhodes. In the early 14th century, they made numerous modifications and converted the Byzantine citadel into an administrative center and the residence of their Grand Master.
After the Ottoman occupation of Rhodos in 1522, the building lost its importance and was mainly used as a prison. Several earthquakes progressively damaged the building until, in
It was during the Italian occupation in 1937 that extensive restoration works were carried out. Between 1937 and 1940, the Italian architect Vittorio Mesturino rebuilt it to become a holiday residence for King Victor Emmanuel III, and later for the dictator Benito Mussolini. Since the return of the island in 1948 to the Greeks, the palace is a museum.
1865, a devastating explosion in the nearby basement of the church of St. John, used as an arsenal by the Ottomans, turned the Palace in a mass of ruins. The first floor collapsed completely, and very little of it survived until 1937, and the beginning of restoration work.
The Palace has very imposing dimensions and defensive fortifications.
The Palace of The Grand Master TODAY You enter the palace via the grand twin-turreted gateway that leads to a large inner courtyard. There are statues from the Roman and Hellenistic periods that stand beneath the lower level arcades. There are more than 150 rooms inside the palace, of which 24 are open to visitors. The building is rectangular in plan and divided into three levels. On the first floor visitors can tour the large Hall of the Council, the Knights’ dining hall and the private chambers of the Grand Master. Many of the rooms feature exhibitions that depict the history of Rhodes, the Knights of St. John and the Dodecanese Islands. There are displays of 16th and 17th century furniture, antique armor, carpets and vases.
The floors are decorated with mosaics of late Hellenistic, Roman, and early Christian times, excavated on the island of Kos. One of the most famous is the mosaic of Medusa from the 2nd century BC. Medusa is the Greek mythological monster who had snakes instead....