Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi, Rome

The entrance to the Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi (House of the Knights of Rhodes) is in the lovely small Grillo Square, rather hidden and not known to all. The Order was originally named the Knights of St John of Jerusalem and later the Knights of Malta. The façade that looks onto the square has a 15th-century Crusader window while the others (one of which opens onto Campo Carleo and the other behind Augustus' Forum) each feature Roman structures: the first by a lovely trilobate balcony and the second by two crossed windows. The Casa dates from the 12th century but was embellished and restored in 1467-1470 by Cardinal Pietro Barbo when he was administrator of the priorate. It is likely that he used the same artists for this work as he did for Palazzo Venezia, his residence. Inside the Casa you will find the Chapel of St John the Baptist, which was designed and built in 1947. The atrium also leads to the Antiquarium in Augustus' Forum.