Rafael Cotoner Explained

Rafael Cotoner
Office:Grand Master of the Order of Saint John
Term Start:5 June 1660
Term End:20 October 1663
Predecessor:Annet de Clermont-Gessant
Successor:Nicolas Cotoner
Birth Date:1601
Birth Place:Mallorca, Crown of Aragon (modern Spain)
Death Date:20 October 1663
Death Place:Valletta, Malta
Restingplace:St. John's Co-Cathedral
Nationality:Spanish
Alma Mater:House of Cotoner
Allegiance: Order of Saint John

Rafael Cotoner y de Oleza (Maltese: Raphael Cotoner; 1601 – 20 October 1663) was a Spanish knight of Aragon who served as 60th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller or, as it is already known by that time, the Order of Malta, from 5 June 1660 to his death on 20 October 1663 following the brief reign of Annet de Clermont-Gessant.[1] After his death, he was succeeded as Grand Master by his younger brother, Nicolas Cotoner.

During Raphael Cotoner's reign, the Order of Malta sent troops to Candia, besieged by the Ottomans.

Reign as Grand Master

During his 3-year reign, the Order of Malta sent reinforcements to support Venetians besieged by the Ottomans in Candia (Candia eventually fell after a siege lasting more than two decades in September 1669, almost 6 years after Cotoner's death when his brother Nicolas was Grand Master).[2] To show their gratitude and appreciation, the Republic of Venice passed a decree allowing members of the Order to appear armed within the Republic's dominions, something which had never been granted to the Republic's subjects themselves.[3]

It was during Raphael's tenure as Grand Master that the Italian Baroque artist Mattia Preti started work in Valletta's St. John's Co-Cathedral.[3] He went on to decorate the cathedral's interior with paintings of John the Baptist.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rafael Cotoner y de Oleza - The 60th Grandmaster of The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta.
  2. Web site: The War for Candia.
  3. Web site: Raphael Cotoner - Republic of Malta .