Fortifications of Rhodes, Medieval fortification in Rhodes, Greece

The Fortifications of Rhodes form a defensive crescent around the medieval town, mostly a massive wall of stone-encased embankment with scarp, bastions, moat, counterscarp and glacis; the harbour side is a crenellated wall. Built by rubble masonry, the walls have smooth outer faces of pale grey and beige blocks to prevent climbing. Eleven gates give access to the old town, among them the triple-walled Gate d'Amboise, completed in 1512.

The Knights Hospitaller took Rhodes in 1309 after a three-year struggle and began strengthening the existing Byzantine walls. Grand Master Antonio Fluvian de Riviere expanded the circuit to about 42 hectares, and the wall curtain was finished between 1457 and 1465. After the 1481 earthquake, Grand Masters d'Aubusson, d'Amboise, del Carretto and de l'Isle Adam had the walls rebuilt against cannon fire with Italian military architects. The Ottomans took the city in 1522, repaired the walls and held them for four centuries.

The walls are divided by langue: the Grand Master held the north face, while the sections westward and south belonged to the tongues of France, Auvergne, Spain, Germany and Italy. Bastions and terrepleins still carry those names, such as the Bastion of Italy and the terreplein of Spain. The Gate of Saint John was closed after 1480 and replaced by a pentagonal bastion guarding the Gate d'Amboise.

Access to the walls is possible through several entrances within the old town, with some sections open for walking and others viewable only from outside. On sunny days, sturdy footwear and sun protection are advisable since the stone surfaces can become slippery and offer little shade.

The walls were frozen in their 1522 form because the Ottoman conquerors repaired and maintained them through four centuries of rule. This makes Rhodes one of the few European walled towns where the transition from medieval walls to artillery-proof fortifications can still be read in the masonry.