Fra' Nicolás Cotoner y de Oleza (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: ''Nicolau Cotoner i d'Olesa''; 1608,

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

– 29 April 1680,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

) was a Catalan knight of Crown of Aragon who served as the 61st

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and Grand Master of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, between 1663 and 1680. He was the son of Marc Antoni Cotoner i de Santmartí and brother of the previous Grandmaster, Rafael Cotoner. In 1669, after the fall of Candia, Nicolas Cotoner improved the

fortifications of Malta The fortifications of Malta consist of a number of walled cities, citadels, forts, Watchtower, towers, Artillery battery, batteries, redoubts, Entrenchment (fortification), entrenchments and Pillbox (military), pillboxes. The fortifications we ...

due to fears of an Ottoman attack. He funded the construction of the

Cottonera Lines The Cottonera Lines ( mt, Is-Swar tal-Kottonera), also known as the Valperga Lines ( mt, Is-Swar ta' Valperga), are a line of fortifications in Bormla and Birgu, Malta. They were built in the 17th and 18th centuries on higher ground and further o ...

, which were named in his honour. The lines could accommodate up to 40,000 people in case of an invasion. Cotoner's reign also saw the construction of

Fort Ricasoli Fort Ricasoli ( mt, Forti Rikażli) is a bastioned fort in Kalkara, Malta, which was built by the Order of Saint John between 1670 and 1698. The fort occupies a promontory known as Gallows' Point and the north shore of Rinella Bay, commanding th ...

and various modifications to the

Floriana Lines The Floriana Lines ( mt, Is-Swar tal-Furjana) are a line of fortifications in Floriana, Malta, which surround the fortifications of Valletta and form the capital city's outer defences. Construction of the lines began in 1636 and they were named ...

. A strategist and a diplomatic, he greatly increased the prestige of the order, mainly in France, Venice and England. In 1674 funded in Malta a school of Anatomy and Medicine as an annex of the

Sacra Infermeria The Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC, mt, Dar il-Mediterran għall-Konferenzi) is a conference centre in Valletta, Malta. The building was built as a hospital in the 16th century by the Order of St. John, and it was known as the Sacra Infer ...

. He drew up (in Italian) the constitutions and estatutes of the order (1674). Nicolas Cotoner continued the work on the redecoration of

St. John's Co-Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral ( mt, Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Mas ...

commenced by his brother, Rafael, and much of the splendour of the Cathedral occurred during his reign including the decoration of the vault painted by the Calabrian artist

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Cava ...

as well as much of the carving and gilding of most of the walls. He died on 29 April 1680 and is buried in the Chapel of Aragon in the Co-Cathedral. He was succeeded by Fra

Gregorio Carafa Fra Gregorio Carafa (17 March 1615 – 21 July 1690) was a nobleman from the House of Carafa and the 61st Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1680 to his death in 1690. Early life Carafa was born on 17 March 1615 in Castelvetere ...

. The sepulchral monument to Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner, located prominently to the right side of the main altar in the chapel of the langue of Aragon in St John's Co-Cathedral, was produced by

Domenico Guidi Domenico Guidi (1625 – 28 March 1701) was a prominent Italian Baroque sculptor. Born in Carrara, Guidi followed his uncle, Giuliano Finelli, a prominent sculptor noted for his feud with Bernini, to Naples. When he fled Naples in 1647 dur ...

and is one of the most prominent and beautiful monuments in the Cathedral. The remarkable Cotoner monument consists of a pyramidal distribution of figures with a central grouping of triumphal paraphernalia such as arms and trophies which surround the bronze gilded bust of the Grand Master. Above a cherub holds the Cotoner armorial shield whilst the allegory of Fame blows a trumpet in triumph. The sepulchral monument was assembled in the chapel in June 1686.

References

External links

Coins of Grandmaster Nicolas Cotoner

Nicolau Cotoner article in the Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana on-line

Notes and Queries - Ref. Nicolás Cotoner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotoner, Nicolas

Nicolas Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller Knights of Malta Burials at Saint John's Co-Cathedral 1680 deaths People from Mallorca 1608 births Place of birth missing