Rhodes Church of the Annunciation

Location: Town

The Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary is the most famous church in Rhodes Town. Also known as Evangelismos Church, it is located in Eleftherias Square north of Mandraki Harbour and was constructed in the 1920s, during the Italian occupation of the island. The design was based on the architecture of the Medieval Gothic Church of Saint John, adjacent to the Palace of the Grand Master in the Old Town.

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The church served the Italian Catholic community up until 1948 when Rhodes and the other Dodecanese Islands were reunified with mainland Greece. It was then turned into a Greek Orthodox Church and was declared the Cathedral of Rhodes. Along with the necessary decorative reformations to turn a Catholic church into an Orthodox one, interesting frescoes were also painted in the interior by the renowned Greek painter Photis Kontoglou.

The exterior of the church features Gothic-style doors and windows, arches and high ceilings. A tall bell tower with a clock is located at the side entrance of the church, facing the harbor. The Church of the Annunciation celebrates every year on March 25th with a large religious festival.