Behind approximately four kilometres of walls, Rhodes preserves one of the Mediterranean's most complete inhabited fortified cities. The Knights of St John controlled the island from 1309 until 1522 and transformed the existing Byzantine town into a stronghold. UNESCO inscribed the medieval city in 1988 for the influence of its fortifications, its Gothic urban ensemble and the continuing mixture of Frankish, Ottoman and local traditions.
The city did not stop developing when the Knights departed. After Suleiman I's six-month siege in 1522, Ottoman rule brought mosques, baths, houses and new uses for former churches. Italian administration after 1912 added restoration and reconstruction that strongly shaped today's appearance. UNESCO treats those interventions as part of the urban history, not an invisible modern footnote.