Rafael Cotoner y de Oleza ( mt, Raphael Cotoner; 1601 – 20 October 1663) was a Spanish knight of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to so ...

who served as 60th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller or, as it is already known by that time, the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, from 5 June 1660 to his death on 20 October 1663 following the brief reign of

Annet de Clermont-Gessant Fra' Annet de Clermot-Gessant (1587 – 2 June 1660) was the 59th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusal ...

. After his death, he was succeeded as Grand Master by his brother,

Nicolas Cotoner Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

. During Cotoner's reign, the Order of Malta sent troops to

Candia The name Candia can refer to: People * The House of Candia, a noble family from Savoy (14th-16th) * Alfredo Ovando Candía, 56th president of Bolivia * Cecilia Maria de Candia, British-Italian writer * César di Candia, Uruguayan journalist and wr ...

, besieged by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

Reign as Grand Master

During his 3-year reign, the Order of Malta sent reinforcements to support Venetians besieged by the

in Candia (Candia eventually fell after a siege lasting more than two decades in September 1669, almost 6 years after Cotoner's death). To show their gratitude and appreciation, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

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. It was during Raphael's tenure as Grand Master that the Italian Baroque artist

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il C ...

started work in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

St. John's Co-Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral ( mt, Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Ma ...

. He went on to decorate the cathedral's interior with paintings of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

References

External links

Coins of Grandmaster Rafael Cotoner

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller Knights of Malta People from Mallorca 1601 births 1663 deaths Burials at Saint John's Co-Cathedral {{Europe-noble-stub