Hospital of the Knights

Detail of vault construction in passageway leading into inner court, Hospital of the Knights; By the early 14th century the rectangular plan of Rhodes town had become a rough oval. The Knights Hospitaller, however, who had captured Rhodes from the Greeks in 1309, retained the tripartite division of the Byzantine settlement and improved its fortifications. There were two major periods of construction in Rhodes town: 1309 to 1481, at which point the town was severely damaged by heavy Turkish artillery bombardment (1480) and then by a powerful earthquake (1481); and 1481 to 1522. Although most extant public buildings and houses date to this second period, the architecture of both periods reflects the influence of the Gothic style mixed with local elements. One exception, however, is the hospital, which was modelled on a Byzantine hospice with a central courtyard surrounded by galleries of two storeys. In the 14th century Byzantine masonry techniques were still being followed; but by the late 15th century the height of the courses had decreased from 500 mm to 200-220 mm, and the jointing had become much tighter. [The building has been restored and is now a museum.] Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/6/2008