The Borgo and the Area outside the Walls

Abstract

1.1 Historical and Archaeological Investigation The chapel of St. Catherine’s hospice is not extant; in fact, its location, as well as that of the hospice, has been a matter of debate and research to date. According to a document dated April 20th, 1391, the Italian Hospitaller Domenico de Alamania founded in Rhodes a hospice with a chapel dedicated to St. Catherine,1 patron of the langue of Italy since its origins, when the Italian Hospitallers in the Holy Land had undertaken the task of escorting Latin pilgrims to the Sinai Monastery.2 He endowed it with three mills, specifically the 9th, 10th, and 14th mills on the Mole of the Mills, two neighboring houses, two neighboring storerooms, two other storerooms, and other possessions.3 Moreover, he designated that the Order’s admiral would serve as procurator of both the hospice and its chapel and would be in charge of appointing a person to manage the property of both; the admiral would also designate two chaplains, who would ensure that a daily service was held in the chapel and carried out properly. The donations were confirmed in July 1391 by the Master Juan Fernandez de Heredia.4 A few years later, in 1394, the pilgrim Nicola de Martoni confirmed the existence of the ecclesia Sancte Catherine in the town, with many relics in its possession.5 The chapel that Nicola de Martoni visited is mentioned again in 1458 in the travel account of the Italian pilgrim Roberto da Sanseverino (1458–1459). He is reported to have attended mass there three times, stating that all pilgrims lodged at this hospice.6 Roberto da Sanseverino did not ultimately stay there, but in the auberge of Italy, invited by the admiral. Likewise, Nicolò III d’Este,