The Knights of St John, who controlled Rhodes during the 14th and 15th centuries, transformed the northern segment of the Old Town into their headquarters. Essentially an occupying army, the Knights took care to protect themselves from the local population as well as potential invaders, erecting mighty fortress-like mansions as well as a fortified palace. Now known as the Knights’ Quarter, the district still stands apart from the residential and commercial districts of the Old Town.
Begin your tour of the Knights’ Quarter at Liberty Gate, crossing the small bridge into the Old Town. In a medieval building is the original site of the Museum of Modern Greek Art. Inside you’ll find maps and carvings. The main exhibition is at the New Art Gallery with an impressive collection of painting, engraving and sculpture from some of Greece’s most popular 20th-century artists, including Gaitis Giannis, Vasiliou Spiros and Katraki Vaso. For the museum’s temporary exhibits, head to the Centre of Modern Art. All three galleries keep the same hours and one ticket gains you entrance to all three.
Across the pebbled street from the Museum of Modern Greek Art, take in the remains of the 3rd-century-BC Temple of Aphrodite, one of the few ancient ruins in the Old Town.
Continuing down Platonos, the Museum of the Decorative Arts houses an eclectic array of artefacts from around the Dodecanese. It’s chock-a-block with instruments, pottery, carvings, clothing and spinning wheels and gives a colourful view into the past. Captions are sparse; pick up explanatory notes at the door.
In the atmospheric 15th-century knights’ hospital down the road is the Museum of Archaeology. Its biggest draw is the exquisite Aphrodite Bathing, a 1st-century-BC marble statue recovered from the local seabed.
Wander up the Avenue of the Knights (Ippoton), once home to the knights themselves. They were divided into seven ‘tongues’ or languages, according to their place of origin – England, France, Germany, Italy, Aragon, Auvergne and Provence – and each was responsible for protecting a section of the bastion. The Grand Master, who was in charge, lived in the palace. To this day the street exudes a noble, forbidding aura.
First on the right, if you begin at the eastern end of the Avenue of the Knights, is the 1519 Inn of the Order of the Tongue of Italy. Next door is the Palace of Villiers de l’sle Adam. Next along is the Inn of France, the most ornate and distinctive of all the inns.
Further along is the Chapelle Française, embellished with a statue of the Virgin and Child. Next door is the residence of the Chaplain of the Tongue of France. Across the alleyway is the Inn of Provence, with four coats of arms forming the shape of a cross, and opposite is the Inn of Spain. Near the end of the avenue, St John of the Collachio was originally a knights’ church with an underground passage linking it to the palace across the road.
On the right is the truly magnificent 14th-century Palace of the Grand Masters; severely damaged by the Turkish siege and then destroyed by an explosion in the mid-1800s, the Italians rebuilt it, introducing a grandiose, lavish interior. Only 24 of the 158 rooms can be visited; inside you’ll find antique furnishing, sculptures, frescoes and mosaic floors.
From the palace, walk through D’Amboise Gate, the most atmospheric of the gates, which takes you across the moat. When the palace is open, you can also gain access to the walkway along the top of the wall from here, affording great views into the Old Town and across to the sea. Another option is to follow the peaceful Moat Walkway, which you can access next to St Anthony’s Gate.
