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Rhodes - Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Greece

Venue Address: Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Greece - (Show Map)
Rhodes - Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Greece
Rhodes - Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Greece

Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes - Wikipedia

Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes.

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 Colossus of Rhodes stood in the Antiquity.[citation needed] 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.[2] 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.

The palace was restored by Vittorio Mesturino, an Italian architect. [3] It was used as a vacation home by Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, and later Benito Mussolini (Fascist dictator), near the entrance.