Old City Walking Tour (RHO - 11) Half Day

RHODES - Old Town - Half day Departing from Rhodes Port on foot we arrive at the Old Town of Rhodes, following your guide through the narrow, cobblestone streets. The famous street of the Knights leads to the Palace of the Grand Masters the most imposing building of medieval Rhodes with its unique architecture, built in the 14th century. Walking down the street of the Knights, one can admire the Hospital of the Knights which now houses the Archeological Museum.

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is a palace in the town of Rhodes. The site was previously a Byzantine citadel that functioned as a headquarters and fortress. The palace was built in the 14th century by the Knights of Rhodes who occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1522. After the island was captured by the Ottoman empire, the palace was used as a fortress. The original palace was largely destroyed by an ammunition explosion in 1856. When the Kingdom of Italy occupied Rhodes in 1912, the Italians rebuilt the palace in a grandiose pseudo-medieval style as a holiday residence for Victor Emmanuel of Italy and later for Benito Mussolini, whose name can still be seen on a large plaque near the entrance. On 10 February 1947, the Treaty of Peace with Italy, one of the Paris peace treaty, determined that the recently-established Republic of Italy would transfer the Dodecanese to the Greek Kingdom. In 1948, Rhodes and the rest of the Dodecanese were transferred as previously agreed. The Greeks converted the palace to a museum.

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