It was built in the 18th century by the Order of Saint John, during the reign of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, after whom it is named.

Fort Manoel is located to the north west of Valletta, and commands Marsamxett Harbour and the anchorage of Sliema Creek.

The fort was severely damaged in World War II, but it was restored in the early 21st century and is now in good condition.

Shortly after Valletta's construction, the Order of Saint John realised this was a potential vulnerability in the city's defences.

As early as 1569, it was proposed that a small fort with a cavalier be built on the Isolotto to prevent the enemy from taking the island and building batteries on it.

[3] The next proposal to build a fortification on the island was made by the Italian military engineer Antonio Maurizio Valperga in 1670.

[3] Other proposals were made in 1715, this time by the knight René Jacob de Tigné and a team of French engineers.

At the time, it was commanded by the Portuguese knight Gourgeau, and it was garrisoned by the Cacciatori, who were a volunteer chasseur light infantry regiment,[8] as well as a few men from the Birchircara militia.

The piazza of Fort Manoel was the subject of the earliest known photographs of Malta, which were taken in 1840 by Horace Vernet while he was quarantined at the Lazzaretto, but are now believed to be lost.

Later on, significant alterations were made to St. Anthony Bastion, when its gunpowder magazine was demolished to make way for a battery of three QF 12-pounder guns.

The fort suffered considerable damage to its ramparts, barracks and chapel as a result of aerial bombing during the war.

[25] A piazza is located inside the fort, and it contains the rebuilt Chapel of St Anthony of Padua, several barrack blocks, an armoury and other buildings.

A bronze statue of Grand Master Vilhena, possibly designed by Pietro Paolo Troisi, once stood in the square but it was removed in the 19th century and relocated to Valletta.

[4] The fort is supposedly haunted by the Black Knight, who wears the armour and regalia of the Order of St. John, and resembles Grand Master de Vilhena.

In the 1940s, the knight began to appear out of thin air near the ruins of the Chapel of St Anthony of Padua, which had just been bombed in World War II.