Rafael Cotoner

Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller

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Rafael Cotoner


Grand Master of the Order of Saint John
In office 5 June 1660 – 20 October 1663
Monarch	King Philip III
Preceded by	Annet de Clermont-Gessant
Succeeded by	Nicolas Cotoner

Personal details
Born	1601 Mallorca, Crown of Aragon (modern Spain)
Died	20 October 1663 Valletta, Malta
Resting place	St. John's Co-Cathedral
Alma mater	House of Cotoner
Military service
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 brother, Nicolas Cotoner.

During 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).^[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.

References

^ "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".
^ "The War for Candia".
^ ^a ^b "Raphael Cotoner - Republic of Malta".^{[permanent dead link]}