[1] The city of Mdina occupies the tip of a plateau located on high ground in the northern part of the island of Malta, far away from the sea.

The Punic-Roman city was about three times the size of present-day Mdina, extending into a large part of modern Rabat.

The remains of a city gate or tower were discovered in Saqqajja in modern Rabat, about 5 m (16 ft) below the current street level.

[4] The lower foundations of some Punic-Roman ramparts, consisting of rusticated ashlar blocks three courses high still in situ, were found near the Magazine Curtain in the western part of Mdina.

These include a wall around Greeks Gate, and some stones which were discovered in excavations at Inguanez Street and the Xara Palace.

[7] This account further mentions that Malta remained almost uninhabited until it was resettled in around 1048 or 1049 by a Muslim community and their slaves, who built a settlement called Medina on the site of Melite.

A castle known as the Castellu di la Chitati or the castrum civitas was built on the southeast corner of the city near the main entrance, probably on the site of an earlier Byzantine fort.

The main ditch was completed, and the Castellu di la Chitati was partially demolished by royal licence in 1453, due to its ruinous state and the excessive cost for its upkeep.

[15] Parts of the double walls, including the remains of two gun loops, still stand between the gate and the Torre dello Standardo.

[18] When the Order of Saint John took over in Malta in 1530, the nobles ceremoniously handed over the keys of the city to Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam.

The Order settled in Birgu and Mdina lost its status as capital city,[19] but L'Isle-Adam built a palace on the remaining part of the Castellu di la Chitati, which became the meeting place of the civil administrative council known as the Università.

On 7 August, the Order's cavalry in Mdina attacked the unprotected Ottoman field hospital, which led in the invaders abandoning a major assault on the main fortifications in Birgu and Senglea.

[20] After the siege, Maltese military engineer Girolamo Cassar drew up plans to reduce Mdina's size by half and turning it into a fortress, but these were never implemented due to protests by the city's nobles.

[20] The city's main gate was reconstructed in the early 17th century, but the next major alterations were not made until the 1650s, when the large De Redin Bastion was built at the centre of the land front.

[21] Despite these modifications, by 1658 there were also proposals to abandon or demolish the entire fortress due to its state of disrepair, although these plans were opposed by the locals.

[20] Mdina's fortifications remained in use during the British period, and some minor alterations such as the installation of gun emplacements were made in the 19th century.

[35] Sections of the medieval walls of Mdina were rediscovered by Dr. Stephen C. Spiteri and Mario Farrugia while they were surveying the bastions in 2002.

In the case of Mdina, the main focus was to consolidate the terrain, since the city is built on a blue clay plateau which is prone to subsidence.

[39] In 2011, steel rods were inserted into D'Homedes Bastion in order to prevent the walls from slipping down the clay slopes.

Excavations along the eastern part of the city walls unearthed Byzantine antemurals and the base of a late 15th-century cubete artillero (artillery platform).

[5] A late 14th-century stone block bearing the coat of arms of Guglielmo Murina, possibly originating from the Castellu di la Chitati, was discovered in 2012 during the restoration of D'Homedes Bastion.

The present configuration of Mdina's fortifications consists of an irregular perimeter of curtain walls stiffened by a number of bastions.