One of the main things you notice when wandering around Rhodes is the reminder of the Italian occupation. Ηere is a story of one of the more ostentatious buildings, and another of a town built by the Italians. All of this is taken from various sources, Wikipedia, Facebook, advertising etc.
In Britain, un-invaded since the Normans, it is difficult to appreciate the turbulence of invasions and political manoeuvrings affecting the populations of the countries around the Mediterranean over the past two centuries or more. It is salutary to get a feeling for the effects of our own colonial efforts that are reverberating today.
After the outbreak of the Italian-Turkish war over Libya in early 1912 Italy, in order to apply pressure on the Ottoman government, occupied the Dodecanese. The idea was to establish a centre for the Italian empire in the Levant. I assume that prior to this the Dodecanese was in Ottoman hands.
The Italians brought in a huge swathe of modernisation including property registration, power and water and urban development in Rhodes Town and to a lesser extent the rest of the island. Redeveloping the medieval harbour (Mandraki) they cleared the western side, demolished existing buildings, created a promenade and over the years built a range of municipal offices and commercial enterprises, a theatre and a huge hotel. All this in the span of only two decades.
Mario Lago was the Governor of the Dodecanese from 1922 to 1936 and commissioned the hotel as an upscale tourist destination. It combined Byzantine, Arabian, Ottoman and Venetian styles – echoed in the municipal offices built around the corner on the harbour front.
The hotel was (and is) called “Grande Albergo delle Rose” named after the surrounding rose gardens.
The hotel dominates the beaches to the west of the harbour, as they curve around to the tip of the island. It was completed in 1927, hosting a number of the great and good over the years.
A new governor closely associated with Mussolini, Cesare de Vecchi, took over in 1936. His aesthetic sense was offended by the ornate architecture. He immediately demanded that the hotel should be converted to the “rational” style which I think had been utilised along with Art Deco touches in the more severe architecture to be seen today at the town hall, theatre and surrounding buildings. The Venetian style municipal offices were strangely spared.
The hotel closed during the 1970’s (no reason given) and was bought by a Casino company in 2002. A big sign on the front advertises Rhodes Casino, and the hotel was refurbished and still operates (at eyewatering rates).
Friends decided to treat themselves to a flutter at the tables and then partake of afternoon tea – all very British! They assumed that a casino would expect a certain dress code, but found that they stood out among the rather more relaxed apparel of the tourists around them. The tea looks sumptuous though.
Campo Chiaro
Further south, in the centre of the island, is a small town called Eleousa, previously known as Campo Chiaro. It was one of four rural villages built by the Italians to control agriculture and promote the political regime. Mario Lago – still in office in 1934 – invited 30 families from the Fiemme valley, Northern Italy to move to the recently built Campo Chiaro. These families were lumberjacks and sawyers, and were to maintain the 55 thousand hectares of forest around the area. The workers were guaranteed a good salary as well as a house, land and schooling – amazing luck in a time of great unemployment.
Campochiaro was built in a strategic location. New roads were created to facilitate the connection between other rural villages and to transport goods, and later military equipment. The two main highways connecting Rhodes town with Mt Prophet Ilias and Lindos were paved with asphalt. Campochiaro was also on the way to the two impressive hotels built in the forest near the summit of Prophet Ilias – “Elafos” and “Elafina” and a villa where many officials, including the governor of the island, Mario Lago and later Cesare Maria de Vecchi, spent the hot summer days.
The forest was cleaned and well-maintained so the officials could go hunting during their free time. Probably this explains why Campochiaro had such impressive constructions like the catholic church, the school, the market, and the services building to impress visitors and to remind them of their homeland.
With the change of governor in 1936 and the advent of WWII, the village became an army base with 20,000 soldiers descending on it. One of the buildings was turned into a prison. At the end of the war the foresters were not supported by the Italians any more as the Dodecanese was returned to Greek governance. They left the small town and returned to Italy.
A sanatorium took over as the foresters left in 1947 and became well known for treating respiratory ailments, particularly tuberculosis. It was the main institution for its treatment in the Dodecanese until 1970.
The municipal buildings have now fallen into ruin (apart from the church of course), but the remains are very evocative of that era and appear very ghostly. After the Dodecanese islands united with Greece, Campochiaro was named after Aghia Eleousa, meaning “Our Lady of Tenderness”. The church was converted to Greek Orthodox and was dedicated to St. Charalambos.
One of the main attractions is the enormous pool, just outside the centre. It is weird to find such a construction seemingly in the middle of nowhere now but looks so close to town in the older pictures.
The town is built on a hill and the photographs from the construction phase show the complex road layout, now made even more difficult with a one way system and a very specific lack of signage at the critical junction. Every time I go through the village to get to the forests and walking areas of Profitis Ilias, Mussolini’s house (never used) and the Alpine style hotel Elafos, I take the wrong road and have to turn round. The signs are fine coming the other way!
The residents – now Greek – are proud of their town and have posted its history on Facebook – so my thanks to them.
Starting again in Rhodes 
Thank you Rose.
I love reading your stories. And learn from them. You are a good writer.
Are you well?
We moved to an appartement by the sea. Small, but by the sea and we can hear the waves and go for a salty swim every morning.
Bert and Aagje.
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