Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/337

Rh the time of the first siege. Since then many additions and developments had been carried out. The English archologist Newton, and the French writer Biliotti, a native of Rhodes, have both given graphic descriptions of the present state of the city and island, the latter writer in very considerable detail. The bulk of what follows is gathered from these sources. Newton thus portrays the Castello, that part of the town which, forming the upper horn of the crescent made by the line of ramparts, was the residence of the knights. After describing the entrance by the Amboiso gate already quoted, he continues as follows:—“A drawbridge connects this gateway with a stone bridge which here spans the fosse with three arches. Passing through this gate, a vaulted passage leads through the counterscarp over a second and third fosse, which defend the palace of the Grand-Master on the west. After crossing the third fosse the road enters the Castello between the church of St. John and the palace of the Grand-Master, opposite to the upper end of the street of the knights. This street, which runs east and west, divides the Castello into two nearly equal parts. On the south is the church of St. John the Baptist, which seems to have been enlarged and altered by successive Grand-Masters, and was probably founded by Foulkes de Villaret on the first establishment of the knights at Rhodes. The outside has no architectural feature. Its plan is a regular basilica, containing a nave and two aisles with a clock tower, the upper part of which was destroyed in the siege (the second siege is here alluded to). The interior dimensions are 150 feet in length by 52 feet in breadth. The columns dividing the aisles from the nave are chiefly of granite, and are probably taken from several ancient buildings. The roof is of wood; the beams and ceiling blue, spangled with gold stars.”

This church replaced a Byzantine chapel, which, in its turn, had been raised on the ruins of an ancient Greek temple. The simplicity of the exterior was in striking contrast with the richness of the interior fittings. Numerous valuable pictures, gold and silver ornaments of all kinds, and rich ecclesiastical vestments were to be found therein. There were fifteen of these pictures, gorgeously framed and each adorned with the cross of the Order in solid gold, statues of the twelve apostles in silver