Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
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The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is a palace in the town of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes in Greece. The palace was built in th 14th century by the Knights of Rhodes (now officially known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta), 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 Italians occupied Rhodes in 1911, they rebuilt it in a grandiose pseudo-medieval style as a holiday residence for the King of Italy, and later for Benito Mussolini, whose name can still be seen on a large plaque near the entrance. When Greece reclaimed the island from Italy in 1948, the palace became a museum.
