Study tour to Rhodes

The International Institute for Baroque Studies and the Department of Architecture and Urban Design of the University of Malta have recently organised a one-day study tour to Rhodes to expose students of the Baroque studies and architecture courses to the living environment of the Knights of St John before their arrival in Malta in 1530.

The visit to Rhodes was organised by Professor Dennis De Lucca in conjunction with Dr Lee Minaidis, deputy mayor of the city of Rhodes for international and public relations, who provided specialised guides and reading material for the occasion.

During the study tours, the students were given the opportunity to spend time in the former Grand Hospital of the Knights, now the archaeological museum, and in the castle-palace of the Grand Masters, which was restored with skill and imagination in the last century by Italian architects.

The visit to Rhodes included a tour of old buildings and Hellenistic and Byzantine ruins in the former Turkish and Jewish quarters, including a mosque undergoing intensive restoration and the 16th century Turkish baths.

The students also toured the impressive medieval fortifications of the town which in the early 16th century were reinforced with primitive bastions designed by the military engineer Basilio della Scola, in anticipation of the second siege of Rhodes in 1522 which led to the capitulation of Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle Adam.

In the late evening the students were taken to visit the white-washed labyrinthine village of Lindos, situated in the southern part of the island of Rhodes, beneath an ancient Greek acropolis which was later converted into an impressive Mediaeval fortress.

The Rhodes study tour was the last of a series of yearly study tours which have been organised in the past years so as to make students aware of the diversity of the architectural heritage of mankind and its conservation. During the study tour to Rhodes, the students were accompanied by institute director Professor Dennis De Lucca, faculty dean Joe Falzon and Dr Joe Spiteri, Dr David Mallia, Stephen Spiteri and Samuel Formosa, who lecture in the department of architecture and urban design. Professor De Lucca said that various aspects of the historic relations between Malta and Rhodes will be the focus of a seminar which will take place in 2005 when a delegation from Rhodes led by Dr Lee Minaidis will be visiting Malta.