Fortifications of Malta
The fortifications of Malta consist of a number of walled cities, citadels, forts, towers, batteries, redoubts, entrenchments and pillboxes.
The fortifications were built over hundreds of years, from around 1450 BC to the mid-20th century, and they are a result of the Maltese islands' strategic position and natural harbours, which have made them very desirable for various powers.
The Phoenicians, Romans and Byzantines built a number of defensive walls around important settlements, but very little remains of these survive today.
By the late medieval period, the main fortifications on Malta were the capital Mdina, the Cittadella on Gozo, the Castrum Maris and a few coastal towers or lookout posts.
By the end of the 18th century, Malta had extensive fortifications around the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett, as well as a coastal defence system consisting of towers, batteries, redoubts and entrenchments.
[16] In 1530, the Maltese islands along with the North African port city of Tripoli were given to the Order of Saint John by Emperor Charles V. The knights settled in the town of Birgu and made it their capital.
Later on, the entire town of Birgu began to be surrounded by new fortifications, in a similar style to the Order's earlier defences in Rhodes.
Fort Saint Elmo fell after fierce fighting (in which the Ottoman general Dragut Reis was killed), but the knights held out in Birgu and Senglea until a relief force arrived.
The city walls, which were constructed mainly in the 1560s and 1570s, remain largely intact to this day, and they include bastions, cavaliers, counterguards and a ditch.
Eventually, some effort was done to complete both the Santa Margherita and Cottonera Lines in the early 18th century, although some of the planned ravelins, cavaliers, ditch and other fortifications were never constructed.
During the rebuilding, the city's entrance was replaced by a larger gate by the architect Charles François de Mondion in 1724, and the last modifications were made in 1746, when Despuig Bastion was completed.
[27] Despite the significant fortifications in the harbour area, the rest of the islands remained mostly undefended until the 17th century, and they were prone to attacks (such as the raid of 1551).
These were much smaller than the Wignacourt towers, as they were built as watchtowers and a communication link to warn the Order's base in the Grand Harbour of an attack.
[35] Between 1793 and 1795, Saint Lucian Tower and its battery were strengthened with a ditch and an entrenchment-like enclosure, and the complex was renamed Fort Rohan after the reigning Grand Master, Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc.
Most of the fortifications, with the exception of the tower itself, were dismantled and rebuilt by the British later on in the 19th century and the name Fort Rohan fell into disuse.
The Maltese, although initially welcoming the French occupiers, rebelled after a couple of months due to a number of reforms and the looting of churches.
The insurgents took control of Gozo which became briefly independent, as well as Mdina and the towns and villages of the main island, leaving the French blockaded in the well-defended harbour area.
Under the military theory of the time, the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet was regarded as the most reliable protection against invasion, and in fact the British Civil Commissioner, Henry Pigot, wanted to demolish the majority of Valletta's fortifications in 1801, although this was never done.
[4] During the British period, the various forts of the Order were rearmed, refitted and altered a number of times to keep up with the latest military technology.
[45][46] Starting from 1875, the Victoria Lines, originally known as the North West Front, were built along the northern part of Malta, dividing it from the more heavily populated south.
The lines were completed in 1899, but exercises in 1900 proved that they were of dubious defensive value, and the entire system was decommissioned in 1907, with the exception of the coastal towers.
[56] Throughout the war, many air-raid shelters also were dug in the limestone rock of the islands, either by the government or by individuals or families, to protect the civilian population of Malta from Italian or German aerial bombardment.
[66] The other fortifications around Malta's harbour area, the fortified cities of Mdina and the Cittadella, as well as the Victoria Lines have been on the tentative list of World Heritage Sites since 1998.
[3] The National Trust of Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, was responsible for the restoration of a number of Hospitaller coastal fortifications from the 1970s onwards.
[74] The 19th century Garden Battery, which was believed to have been destroyed in the World War II, was rediscovered during the Tigné Point project, and MIDI decided to restore it as well.
[87] The Fortifications Interpretation Centre (FIC) is a public institution dedicated to communicating and exhibiting Malta's military architecture.
The building was originally a bombproof magazine and artillery school that was built sometime during the reign of Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle in the late 16th century.
The uppermost floor had been destroyed in World War II and the rest of the building was subsequently used as an examination hall.
[88] The building was restored and the upper floor rebuilt in a project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, and the FIC was opened on 16 February 2013.
[92] Another version with four turrets (three visible) can be seen on the coats of arms of Cospicua, Senglea, Qormi, Siġġiewi, Żabbar, Żebbuġ, Żejtun and Victoria, indicating the status of a city.
