Rafael Cotoner

Rafael Cotoner y de Oleza (Maltese: Raphael Cotoner; 1601 – 20 October 1663) was a Spanish knight of Aragon who served as 60th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller or, as it is already known by that time, the Order of Malta, from 5 June 1660 to his death on 20 October 1663 following the brief reign of Annet de Clermont-Gessant.

[1] After his death, he was succeeded as Grand Master by his younger brother, Nicolas Cotoner.

During Raphael Cotoner's reign, the Order of Malta sent troops to Candia, besieged by the Ottomans.

During his 3-year reign, the Order of Malta sent reinforcements to support Venetians besieged by the Ottomans in Candia (Candia eventually fell after a siege lasting more than two decades in September 1669, almost 6 years after Cotoner's death when his brother Nicolas was Grand Master).

[3] It was during Raphael's tenure as Grand Master that the Italian Baroque artist Mattia Preti started work in Valletta's St. John's Co-Cathedral.

Mattia Preti started work in St. John's Co-Cathedral during Raphael's reign.