The Knights of Saint John were organised in Languages which all had their own Palaces
Strolling around the medieval capital of Rhodes is always a holiday highlight. The town was built by the Knights of Saint John (also known as Maltese Knights) on old foundations from antiquity. It is well preserved and provides a glimpse into the knight’s life. When visiting the first time, I wondered why it was in such good shape. But I did not give it too much thought. Many years later, when preparing our first sailing trip in 2017, the question returned. Under Ottoman rule, Rhodes became a quiet backwater for almost 400 years (1522 – 1912). Once the knights were gone, there was not much business anymore. The island lost its position as a vibrant trading center. Only local fishermen used its once busy port. People became poor. The buildings decayed. Turns out that Rhodes’ beautiful medieval town is the result of a makeover by Italians who ruled here from 1912 to 1947. You may wonder: why Italians?
Italian Bersaglieri (Italian Mountain Infantry) landing in Rhodes on 4 May 1912
On 4th of May 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War, 10’400 Italian soldiers landed in Rhodes. After twelve days, the Ottoman garrison surrendered. The invasion of the Dodecanese was not planned from long hand. It happened almost by accident. The year before (1911) Italy had invaded Libya, an Ottoman province at the time. During the imperialistic heydays of the early 20th century, Italy claimed a piece of action. France had grabbed Morocco (1905), Great Britain Egypt (1882). The Italians felt it was their turn now. The war in Libya did not got well though. Despite 90’000 soldiers on the ground, the Italians controlled only a thin coastal strip. The interior was controlled by Turkish troops and their Berber allies. Kemal Atatürk, the legendary founder of modern Turkey, was one of their leaders.
Kemal Attaturk in Front of his irregular Berber Soldiers fought in Libya against the Italians
For months, Ottoman blockade runners were able to slip troops, weapons and ammunition through Italian lines. To cut this supply, the Italian navy tried first to close the Dardanelles. The Venetians had done this successfully during the War of Crete (1645 – 1669). But the Turks had learnt their lesson. Heavy gun forts now protected Canakkale. The Dardanelles were mined. An attack by the Regia Marina (Italian Navy) failed. It sank two Turkish warships in Beirut though.
The Regia Marina also bombarded the Port of Beirut 1912 to intercept Turkish Transporters
The Italian Admiralty needed an alternative solution. They decided to occupy the Dodecanese instead and intercept the Ottoman transporters with patrols from the occupied islands. By 16th of May, all the Dardanelles were in Italian hand. Italy also wanted to occupy Chios, Lesbos and Tenedo but Great Britain and France vetoed the plan. They were ok with Italy getting Libya but did not want it to control the strategically important Turkish Straits (Bosporus and Dardanelles). The Italo-Ottoman War ended in August 1912 with the Peace Treaty of Ouchy (Lausanne). Italy committed to return the Dodecanese islands to Turkey.
The 12 Major Islands in the Dodecanese - Rhodes was the largest
The Dodecanese people were happy and openly supportive when Italian troops disem-barked in 1912. The Italians promised that the occupation was temporary to help it win the war. The islanders were convinced they could finally unite with Greece. Assemblies were held and deputies selected to negotiate the transfer. But history took a different turn. On 8th of October 1912, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece attacked Turkey in what we call the First Balkan War. They had noted that the Ottomans did not have enough troops to protect the Dodecanese. Not surprisingly they concluded that this was also the case for Turkey’s European possessions. They were correct. The war was a route. The Ottoman forces were decisively beaten. Turkey’s new European border was just a few kilometers west of Istanbul.
Now the Greek government had bigger fish to fry than the Dodecanese. A Second Balkan War was fought. Greece claimed Albania, Tracie, Macedonia and the Aegean islands and actually got a big junk of them. The Dodecanese were not a priority. Greece would get these islands anyway its Foreign Office thought. But the Balkan Wars had also wetted Italy’s appetite for more. The Italian government now eyed southern Anatolia from Bodrum to Alanya. For these plans they needed the Dodecanese as spring board. Suddenly, Greek nationalists were locked up. They were not allowed to meet or to go to Athens anymore. Their news papers were closed. Italy had decided to keep the islands. The Balkan Wars were the perfect pretext for not returning them to Turkey. The Dodecanese would stay “neutral” under Italian protection.
Italian and Turkish Diplomats negotiating the Peace Treaty of Ouchy, Lausanne, August 1912
Three years later, in 1915, just before Italy entered the First World War, Great Britain and France confirmed secretly that it could keep the Dodecanese. They also promised a big junk of southern Anatolia once Turkey was beaten. Italy was one of the winners of World War I. In the Peace Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, the Dodecanese islands became formally Italian. Once Mussolini, the fascist dictator, was in power he vowed to “latinize” the islands. The Regia Marina built a big fleet base in Leros, Rhodes was rebuilt since the HQ of the Maltese Knights was in Rome, Italian architecture popped up everywhere. Mussolini wanted to build a new Roman Empire around the Mare Nostrum. The Dodecanese would be part of it. Am going to describe the Italian architecture we find everywhere here in a separate blog.
A Government Building in Rhodes built by Italian Architects in the Interwar Period
Mussolini’s dream ended in disaster. Italy was beaten by American and British Forces. End of September 1943 it quit the war. The German Wehrmacht occupied the Dodecanese for a year but then had to pull out in summer 1944. In the Peace Treaty from1947, the islands finally became Greek. They had been outside a Greek political entity since 1204 when the 4th Crusade dismantled the Byzantine Empire. But despite more than 700 years of "exile", the people never lost their Greek-Orthodox identity. The Dodecanese is as Greek as it gets.
A Poster for the Italian Flyboat Service from Rome to Rhodes
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