Greece · 14th century
The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, also known as the Kastello (Greek: Καστέλο, from Italian: Castello, "castle"), is a medieval castle in the city of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes in Greece. It is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece. The site was previously a citadel of the Knights Hospitaller that functioned as a palace, headquarters, and fortress.
According to recent study, in the exact spot in which the palace exists today, there was the foundations of the ancient temple of the sun god Helios, and probably that was the spot where the Colossus of Rhodes stood in the Antiquity. The palace was originally built in the late 7th century as a Byzantine citadel. After the Knights Hospitaller occupied Rhodes and some other Greek islands (such as Kalymnos and Kastellorizo) in 1309, they converted the fortress into their administrative centre and the palace of their Grand Master. In the first quarter of the 14th century, they repaired the palace and made a number of major modifications. The palace was damaged in the earthquake of 1481, and it was repaired soon afterwards.
After the 1522 capture of the island by the Ottoman Empire, the palace was used as a command centre and fortress.
In 1856, a gunpowder magazine under the nearby Church of Saint John – possibly stored there since the siege of 1522 – was struck by lightning, causing a massive explosion that killed many people, destroyed the church, and destroyed much of the Grand Master's Palace. Most of the upper floors collapsed, while the ground floor rooms survived.
During the Italian rule of Rhodes, the Ottoman-era structures of the former palace were demolished and the authorities asked architect Vittorio Mesturino, a recognized expert of medieval architecture and historical preservation, to design the reconstruction of the palace as well as in the nearby Street of the Knights of Rhodes. Despite the lack of remains or documentation from the pre-Ottoman era, Mestrino opted to re-create a structure that also suited the Italian authorities' need for a functional government building that would benefit from the aura of the Hospitaller legacy. The construction works took place between 1937 and 1940.
Text adapted from “Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes ranks #298 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #9 of the 134 mapped in Greece. Founded c. 1320, it is older than 59% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 21,356 times in the last 60 days, more than 97% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 240,000 visitors in 2018. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Greece compares in the castle statistics.
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