Our Lady of the Castle (Panayia)
Byzantine church turned Gothic cathedral turned mosque, now a museum of icons and medieval sculpture.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Our Lady of the Castle in Rhodes opens with a stonemason sorting rubble in 1303, after an earthquake brings down the dome of a Byzantine church built two centuries earlier. It follows what the Knights of Saint John do to the ruined building once they seize the island, raising Gothic vaults under Grand Master Helion de Villeneuve and drawing even a pope's coat of arms into the window behind the altar. It traces the crests of later grand masters, including Pierre d'Aubusson, added as the church weathers the 1480 Ottoman siege of the city. Look up at the ribbed arches overhead for de Villeneuve's own signature on the stone.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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