Raymond Perellos of Roccaful

Ramon Rabasa de Perellós y Rocafull (; 1637 in Valencia – 10 January 1720 in Valletta) was a Spanish knight from the Crown of Aragon who served as the 64th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta from 1697 until his death. He was of Valencian origin and was 60 years old when he was elected as Grand Master.

Biography Ramon Perellós (1637–1720) was the son of the eighth Lord of Benetússer and fifth Baron of Dos Aguas and of María de Rocafull y Vives de Boil, his consort. He joined the Order of Malta at the age of sixteen following family tradition.

Malta had organised the Consulato del Mare (Consulate of the Sea) for the first time on 1 September 1697 per initiative of Grandmaster Perellós. At the consulate it was decided that four merchants familiar enough with maritime procedures shall be appointed consuls to administer justice, on similar approach to Barcelona and Messina. In 1697, Perellós gave a collection of tapestries to St. John's Co-Cathedral, and commissioned another set of tapestries for the Grand Master's Palace.

Perellós established foreign relations between Malta and Russia for the first time in 1698. During his rule the coastal fortifications of Malta were strengthened by the construction of batteries, redoubts, and entrenchments. He also was the driving force behind the third rate squadron of the order which was eventually inaugurated in 1705. In 1707 he entrusted Romano Carapecchia with the reorganisation of the drainage system in Valletta. He built two country residences, Villa Perellos in Paola and Casa Perellos in Żejtun.

He died after nearly 23 years as a ruler, due to illness and old age. His coat of arms was represented by three black pears against a golden background. His funerary monument is found at St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta and is considered to be one of the best examples of baroque art in Malta.

War against corruption Soon after his appointment, Ramon Perellós became very active in correcting cases of corruption and abuse within the Order. One such case involved the request by knights to receive graces and be nominated to the title of Gran Croce di Grazia (literally: great cross by grace). This title implied that a graced knight could replace a knight of the Great Cross upon the latter's death. This procedure was not well reputed among elder knights who spent their lifetime at the service of the Order, and resulted in many of them retiring to return to their homelands and leave their inheritances to their respective families, against the rules of the Order. The pleas of Perellos to eliminate such prejudicial recommendations were considered legitimate by Pope Innocent XII who agreed to forbid them.

One year later, the commanding knight Giuseppe de Langon, surrounded Oran and with his sole vessel, which harbored a force of 50 cannons, traversed the entire enemy fleet despite the vain efforts of the Algerians to catch him. He was subsequently nominated Lieutenant General of the Maltese fleet.

Siege of Venice During the years preceding the siege of Venice, it was believed that the Ottoman Empire had preparations underway to attack Malta. This suspicion became stronger when a well-groomed man, who had approached the Order offering to serve as an engineer and share his wealth of knowledge about fortifications, disappeared shortly after having surveyed Malta's fortifications. Consequently, the Order began its preparations to counter any possible attack by the Ottoman army. Perellos_Fountain.jpeg|Perellos Fountain in Valletta, designed by Romano Carapecchia Casa_Perellos,_Zejtun,_Malta.jpeg|Casa Perellos, the hunting lodge of Grand Master Perellos