Fort Saint Angelo, Il-Birgu, Malta

Fort Saint Angelo (Maltese: Forti Sant’Anġlu or Fortizza Sant’Anġlu) is a bastioned fort in Birgu, Malta, located at the centre of the Grand Harbour. It was originally built in the medieval period as a castle called the Castrum Maris or the Castello al Mare. It was rebuilt by the Order of Saint John as a bastioned fort called Fort Saint Angelo between the 1530s and the 1560s, and it is best known for its role as the Order’s headquarters during the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. A major reconstruction to designs of Carlos de Grunenbergh took place in the 1690s, giving the fort its current appearance.

Fort St Angelo’s intrinsic value for the Maltese Islands and their people knows no comparison. It may not be the oldest, grandest or finest stronghold, but it surely is the boldest memorial of the strategic importance of these tiny islands and of the innumerable lives sacrificed for their dominion since time immemorial. Its control meant effective rule of the Maltese Islands during at least the past thousand years. Indeed, no other fortress has been engaged with the same intensity in the shaping of Malta’s destiny.

The fort was garrisoned by the British from 1800 to 1979, at times being classified as a stone frigate known as HMS Egmont or later HMS St Angelo. The fort suffered considerable damage during World War II, but it was later restored. In 1998, the upper part of the fort was handed back to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Fort St. Angelo has been on Malta’s tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as part of the Knights’ Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta.

History:
The date of its original construction is unknown. However, there are claims of prehistoric or classical buildings near the site, due to some large ashlar blocks and an Egyptian pink granite column at the top part of the fort. There is also the mentioning in Roman texts of a temple dedicated to Juno/Astarte, probably in the vicinity of the fort. There is also the popular attribute to its foundation to the Arabs, c. 870 AD, but nothing is concrete although al-Himyarī mentions that the Arabs dismantled a hisn (fortress), but there is no actual reference if this ‘fortress’ was in Birgu.

The site attracted attention since antiquity, in particular following the Islands’ colonisation and insertion in the then prevailing trading routes by the Phoenicians during the first half of the first Legend has it that Count Roger founded a chapel there in honour of Archangel Michael (St Angelo) following the Norman Conquest in 1091

Its probable start as a fortification is the high/late medieval period. In fact, in 1220 Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II started to appoint his own Castellani for Malta who needed a place to live and secure the interests of the crown. The remains of a tower that may date back to the 12th century can be traced among the more recent works. The first mention of Castrum Maris (“Castle by the sea”) is to be found in documents from the 1240s when Paulinus of Malta was the lord of the island and later when Giliberto Abate made a census of the islands. Another reference to the castle is that from the short Angevin rule (1266–83) where documents list it again as Castrum Maris and list a garrison of 150 men together with several weapons. It seems also that by 1274, the castle already had two chapels which are still there today. From the same year exists also a detailed inventory of weapons and supplies in the castle. From 1283 the Maltese islands were under Aragonese rule (although the castle withstood for some time in Angevin rule while the rest of Malta was already in Aragonese hands) and the fortification was mainly used by Castellani (like the de Nava family) who were there to safeguard the interests of the Aragonese crown. In fact the Castellans did not have any jurisdiction outside the ditch of the fort.

The thirteenth century provides the earliest known documentary references and description of the then medieval castle.

Fashioned around a strategically located and conveniently sized hillock at the tip of the Birgu Peninsula, the stronghold dominates the Grand Harbour. The site attracted attention since antiquity, in particular following the Islands’ colonization by the Phoenicians during the first half of the first millennium before Christ. By 1274, Fort St Angelo, or the Castrum Maris (castle-by-the-sea) as known at the time, consisted of two enclosures each demarcated by an enceinte stiffened with round towers at regular intervals. It became to be viewed by the Sicilian overlords as a guarantee of their interests in the Maltese Islands, and was administered by loyal subjects under the title of Castellan.

When the Order of Saint John arrived in Malta in 1530, they chose to settle in Birgu, and Fort St Angelo became the seat of the Grand Master, which included the refurbishing of the Castellan’s House and St. Anne’s Chapel. The Knights made this their primary fortification and substantially reinforced and remodelled it, including the cutting of the dry ditch to make it a moat and the D’Homedes Bastion built by 1536. By 1547, a large cavalier designed by Antonio Ferramolino was built behind the D’Homedes Bastion, and De Guirial Battery was built at the tip of the fort by sea level to protect the entrance to Dockyard Creek. These works transformed the fort into a gunpowder fortification. Fort St Angelo withstood the Turks during the Great Siege of Malta, during which it succeeded in tearing apart a sea attack by the Turks on Senglea on 15 August 1565. In the aftermath of that siege, the Knights built the fortified city of Valletta on Mount Sciberras on the other side of the Grand Harbour, and the administrative centre for the knights moved there.

After 1530 the Order of St John turned the Castrum Maris, christened Fort St Angelo, into their headquarters. Indeed, the Fort formed an intrinsic part of the Order’s Convent and even housed the Grand Master’s residence between 1530 and 1558. The Knights extensively remodelled the then obsolete medieval castle with the construction of a series of artillery platforms, which marked the introduction of the bastioned system of defence into the Maltese Islands. The rejuvenated sentinel of the Grand Harbour had a major role during the Great Siege of 1565. It coordinated the day to day defensive and offensive strategies, housed the main provisions’ depot, inflicted havoc on the Ottomans’ makeshift batteries on Mount Sciberras and San Salvatore Hill, and spoiled the besiegers’ plan to attack Senglea by surprise on 15 July.

In 1644, Giovanni de’ Medici proposed a new fort be constructed on Orsi Point (the site where Fort Ricasoli was later built), and the name and garrison of Fort St. Angelo be transferred to the new fort. He drew up plans for the proposed fort, but they were never implemented.

In 1689 the military engineer Carlos Grunenbergh realized that the then derelict fortress was nonetheless the best option to safeguard the Grand Harbour and subsequently spearheaded its transformation into a forceful work, including four intimidating gun platforms with a capacity of some 50 artillery pieces aimed at the entrance of the harbour.

It was not until the 1690s that the fort again underwent major repairs. Today’s layout of the fort is attributed to these works which were designed by Carlos de Grunenbergh, who also paid for the construction of four gun batteries on the side of the fort facing the entrance to Grand Harbour. As a result, one can still see his coat of arms above the main gate of the fort. By the arrival of the French in 1798, therefore, the fort became a very powerful fortification including some 80 guns, 48 of which pointed towards the entrance of the port. During the short two-year period of French occupation, the Fort served as headquarters of the French Army.

In 1906 the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet relocated its command hub inside the Fort. It was enlisted as shore base, first renamed HMS Egmont in 1912 and HMS St Angelo in 1933.

With the coming of the British to Malta the fort retained its importance as a military installation, first in use by the Army. In fact, in 1800, two battalions of the 35th Regiment were resident in the fort. However, at the start of the 20th century, the fort was taken over by the Navy and it was commisioned as a stone figate, originally in 1912 as HMS Egmont, when it became a base for the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, but in 1933 renamed as HMS St Angelo. The British did not make any major modifications to the fort, although they converted No. 2 Battery into a casemated battery for three nine-inch RML guns in the 1860s, and built a cinema and a water distillation plant in the early 20th century.

The Fort’s vocation in safeguarding the Grand Harbour stood unchallenged with the settling in of the British colonisers at the turn of the nineteenth century. A major upgrade in 1872 sought the introduction of three 9-inch rifled-muzzle-loading guns. In 1906 the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet relocated its command hub inside the Fort which was enlisted as shore base, first renamed HMS Egmont in 1912 and HMS St Angelo in 1933. Fort St Angelo was called into action again during World War II to offer protection against the Axis air raids. It still suffered the blunt of the enemy strikes and was directly hit with 69 bombs. Following the war, the Fort continued to serve as the headquarters of the Royal Navy at Malta until the last detachment of foreign forces marched out of its walls in March 1979.

Fort St Angelo was called into action again during World War II to offer protection against the ruthless Axis air raids. During World War II, the fort again stood for siege with an armament of 3 Bofors guns (manned by the Royal Marines and later by the Royal Malta Artillery). In total, the fort suffered 69 direct hits between 1940 and 1943. When the Royal Navy left Malta in 1979 the Fort was handed to the Maltese government and since then parts of the fort have fallen into a state of disrepair, mostly after a project to transform it into a hotel during the 1980s.

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On 5 December 1998, a treaty was signed between Malta and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta granting the upper part of Fort St Angelo, including the Grand Master’s House and the Chapel of St Anne, to the Order with limited extraterritoriality. Its stated purpose is “to give the Order the opportunity to be better enabled to carry out its humanitarian activities as Knights Hospitallers from Saint Angelo, as well as to better define the legal status of Saint Angelo subject to the sovereignty of Malta over it”.

This treaty was ratified on 1 November 2001. The agreement has a duration of 99 years but the document allows the Maltese Government terminate it at any time after 50 years. In terms of the agreement, the flag of Malta is to be flown together with the flag of the Order in a prominent position over Saint Angelo. No asylum may be granted by the Order and generally the Maltese courts have full jurisdiction and Maltese law shall apply. A number of immunities and privileges are mentioned in the second bilateral treaty.

Other parts of the fort are leased to the Cottonera Waterfront Group, a private consortium.

On 5 March 2012, it was confirmed that the European Regional Development Fund allocated €13.4 million for the restoration, conservation and re-use of the site, allowing for the Fort to be opened as a major visitor attraction highlighting its history and roles through the ages as well as to cater for educational programs, cultural events and live historical experiences. The restoration was managed by Heritage Malta. and completed in September 2015. It frequently participates in hosting events of national importance including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015 and the 2017 Maltese EU presidency.

Layout
Upon the arrival of the Order in 1530, the Castrum Maris consisted of a shell keep containing various buildings, including the Castellan’s house and the Chapel of St. Mary (later rededicated to St. Anne), and an outer ward. The castle also included a chapel dedicated to St. Angelo, which was later rededicated to the Nativity of Our Lady.

Fashioned around a strategically located and conveniently sized hillock at the tip of the Birgu peninsula, the present fabric is the net sum of countless modifications and additions over several centuries, if not millennia.

At the rear of D’Homedes bastions is a solidly built cavalier known as the Ferramolino’s cavalier. Designed by the military engineer Ferramolino. It was built between 1542 and 1547, this towering artillery platform contains three adjoining casemates. The Ferramolino cavalier was built as a counter-bombardment station intended to confront attacks from Mount Sceberras and Santa Margherita heights.

By and large, the most meaningful innovations in warfare technology and defence strategies that marked the Early Modern Period are reflected in the Fort’s multi-layered fabric. Besides a noteworthy corpus of iron guns, the fort preserves a host of complementary gunpowder magazines and related amenities.

By the time of the Great Siege of Malta of 1565, the fort still retained most of its medieval features, but a number of modifications had been made by the Order, including:

D’Homedes Bastion – built during the reign of Juan de Homedes y Coscon. It was heavily altered since the 16th century, especially when it was converted into a gunpowder magazine. Part of the bastion was destroyed in World War II, but the damage was repaired in the 1990s.

Ferramolino’s Cavalier – a high cavalier near D’Homedes Bastion, built between 1542 and 1547. Its roof had eight embrasures, and several magazines and a beacon were also located on the cavalier.

De Guiral Battery – a small sea-level battery on the western side of the fort. It was named after Francesco de Guiral, its commander during the Great Siege. The battery was altered in the 17th and 18th centuries, and again by the British.

Most of the present configuration of the fort dates back to reconstruction in the 1690s. Among the features added Grunenbergh, there were four batteries facing the entrance to the Grand Harbour. No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 Batteries were heavily altered by the British, while No. 3 Battery retains more of its original features.

Inscriptions inside the Guva: This damp underground cell, famous for its unique graffiti served as a reformatory space to convicted knights and occasionally housed knights awaiting trials. It is believed that artist Caravaggio and Grand Master La Cassiere were imprisoned in here. The oldest graffiti dates back to August 7, 1532.

Great Siege Memorial: A raised platform marking the burial site of Knights who lost their lives during the Great Siege of 1565 and victims of the plague in 1676. The remains inside this cemetery were moved in 1591 and reburied in a memorial adjacent to St John’s Co-Cathedral.

In 1998 the Sovereign Military order of Malta made a return to Fort St Angelo after an absence of 200 years. The Magisterial Palace, St. Anne’s Chapel and the adjoining terraces have since been beautifully restored.

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