Palace of the Grand Masters

The Palace of the Grand Masters is a fortress located in the Old Town of Rhodes, built on the site of an older Byzantine citadel. It was constructed by Catholic military order the Knights of St. John, who ruled the island from 1309 to 1522. The palace features a triple circuit of walls and sits at the highest point of the Old Town on the top of the Street of the Knights.

The palace's design is based on a square plan, centered around a large internal courtyard. Although it fell into disrepair after the knights left, it was later rebuilt by the Italians in the 1930s as a holiday residence for King Emmanuel III and later for Mussolini. The palace has over 150 rooms, but only around 20 are accessible to tourists, featuring towers, crenellated ramparts, pebble mosaic floors, and antiques. The palace's charming design makes it a popular destination for tourists to explore and appreciate its historical significance.