[2] Fort Ricasoli saw use during the French invasion of Malta in 1798 and the subsequent Maltese insurrection, after which it ended up in British hands.

Today, the fort remains mostly intact but in a dilapidated state, and it is used as a filming location and a tank cleaning facility.

[3][4] In 1531, two leaders of a slave rebellion and ten others who took a prominent role, who had tried to take over Fort St. Angelo and escape from Malta, were tortured and then hanged on the peninsula, which became known as Gallows' Point (Maltese: Ponta tal-Forka) afterwards.

During the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, the Ottomans built an artillery battery on the peninsula in order to bombard Fort St.

It was officially called Torre San Petronio, but it was commonly known as Orsi Tower[7][8] or Torri Teftef by the locals.

[5] In 1669, fears of an Ottoman attack rose after the fall of Candia, and the following year Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner invited Antonio Maurizio Valperga, the military engineer of the House of Savoy, to improve Malta's fortifications.

[17] Valperga designed a new fort to be built on the headland, and despite some criticism from within the order, the decision was eventually approved.

[18] The Florentine knight Fra Giovanni Francesco Ricasoli donated 20,000 scudi to construct the fort, and it was named in his honour.

De Tigné proposed a number of alterations, including repairing the existing parapets and embrasures, as well as constructing a retrenchment within the fort.

In 1722, the repairs proposed by de Tigné were implemented, although the retrenchment and canal were never built due to a lack of funds.

At the time, it was commanded by the Bali de Tillet, and was garrisoned by the Cacciatori, who were a volunteer chasseur light infantry regiment.

[23] The fort repelled three French attacks, before surrendering after Grand Master Hompesch officially capitulated to Napoleon.

It was the scene of a mutiny in 1807 when Albanian soldiers of the Froberg Regiment revolted and shut themselves up in Fort Ricasoli.

Despite attempts at negotiation they eventually blew up the main gunpowder magazine, causing extensive damage to the fort in the process.

In the 1850s, artillery of a higher calibre was introduced to the fort, and the guns were replaced a number of times over the following decades.

[15] Fort Ricasoli was active in the defence of Malta during World War II, and on 26 July 1941, its guns helped repel an Italian attack on the Grand Harbour.

[5] After the fort was handed over to the Maltese government, it was initially abandoned but it later became a container depot for raw material arriving in Malta.

In recent years, huge sets were built within its walls for the films Cutthroat Island (1995), Gladiator (2000), Troy (2004), Agora (2009), and Napoleon (2023).

The TV miniseries Julius Caesar (2002) and Helen of Troy (2003) were also partially filmed at Fort Ricasoli.

[37] The first season of HBO's adaptation of George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones used various parts of the fort to represent the Red Keep.

[64] The enceinte facing the open sea is made up of the following bastions and curtain walls: A shallow rock-hewn ditch extends from No.

[75] The Governor's House (now demolished) and a Chapel of St Nicholas are located within the fort, close to the main gate.