Raphael Cotoner

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Cotoner and the second or maternal family name is Olesa.
Raphael Cotoner i d'Olesa
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
Nationality Spanish
Military service
Allegiance Sovereign Military Order of Malta Order of Saint John

Raphael Cotoner (Rafael Cotoner i d'Olesa; died 20 October 1663) was the 60th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller or, as it is already known by that time, the Order of Malta, serving in that position 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

Mattia Preti started work in St. John's Co-Cathedral during Raphael's reign.

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

  1. ↑ "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. ↑ "The War for Candia".
  3. 1 2 "Raphael Cotoner - Republic of Malta".
Preceded by
Annet de Clermont-Gessant		 Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
5 June 1660–20 October 1663 		Succeeded by
Nicolas Cotoner


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