Cooperation between Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and South Aegean Regional Governor Giorgos Hatzimarkos is bringing another major heritage protection project to Rhodes.
With €11 million in European funding from the South Aegean Region, the Culture Ministry is proceeding with conservation and restoration of the Palace of the Grand Master, Rhodes' emblematic Castello. It is one of the Medieval City's most important monuments and one of the island's most internationally recognised landmarks.
Securing the funding follows sustained cooperation between Mendoni and Hatzimarkos, based on mutual trust, a shared appreciation of the islands' cultural heritage and a determination to turn conservation needs into specific projects.
The Palace occupies a unique place within the Medieval City of Rhodes. Standing at the highest point of its fortifications, it is inseparable from the city's historic character and represents a landmark for the wider South Aegean's cultural heritage.
The need for its conservation became more pressing with the start of work at the Pervola garden. That project has transformed approximately two hectares within the Medieval City into an accessible space for history and culture, an open-air museum connecting the monuments with their natural surroundings and with the Palace gardens.
The relationship between the two projects reflects coordinated planning. Pervola and the Castello form parts of a wider programme to protect, restore and promote the Medieval City as an integrated historic and cultural ensemble.
When work at Pervola began, the culture minister and regional governor also started working closely to identify funding for restoration of the Palace. The €11 million now secured will shortly be made available to the Culture Ministry to advance the major intervention.
Restoration of the Palace, following the Pervola project, opens another chapter for the Medieval City. It strengthens protection and presentation of an invaluable cultural asset that remains a living part of Rhodes' identity and a legacy of international significance.
Hatzimarkos said, “A commitment to continually seeking solutions to real needs, together with the principles of cooperation, always produces results.
“Our cooperation with the Culture Ministry has delivered an exceptionally large number of projects at cultural monuments across our islands. In fact, it has delivered the largest programme, in both numbers and budget, in the history of our islands' monuments.
“On Rhodes, the ministry has planned, funded and delivered projects of exceptional value for the island's cultural heritage. Further projects contributing substantially to its historical memory are being prepared and implemented.
“I want to thank Culture Minister Lina Mendoni for her dedication to history and for the hard work essential to presenting it. For our part, we support restoration of our cultural monuments using every available source of funding, including the region's own resources.
“The Palace of the Grand Master, in the Medieval City of Rhodes, is an emblematic monument of our country and the Mediterranean that needs care.
“This objective has brought us together once again. We are pleased to contribute €11 million from our region's European resources, which will shortly be available to the Culture Ministry for this important work.
“Our cooperation with the ministry has produced results because it rests on mutual respect and a shared commitment to the agreed goal.”
