Maltese Fortifications – Saint Anthony’s Battery at Qala, Gozo
One of only two surviving batteries on Gozo that was built by the Order of Saint John between 1731 and 1732 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands is the SAINT ANTHONY’S BATTERY at Qala. It was built by the Order of Saint John on the eastern […]
Maltese Fortifications – Fort Saint Elmo at Valletta Part 1
One of the Fortifications full of never ending history around the Maltese Islands is FORT SAINT ELMO (in Maltese as FORTI SANT’ IERMU) , situated at Valletta. Building it started in 1552 and it stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort […]
Maltese Islands – Tunnara Museum at Mellieha
One of the gems around the Maltese Islands is the TUNNARA MUSEUM which is housed in Westreme Battery, also known as ir-Rasus Battery or Mellieħa Right Battery, at the Northern Part of Malta – Mellieha. Westreme Battery was built between 1715 and 1716 as part of the Order of Saint John’s first building program of […]
Maltese Fortifications – Santa Cecilia Tower
One of the Limestone Towers in Gozo nowadays a Private Residence is Santa Cecilia Tower. Santa Cecilia Tower was built in 1613 by Fra Bernardo Macedonia, Commander of Artillery of the Order of St. John and the tower was able to communicate with the batteries at Ramla Bay as well as Mġarr ix-Xini Tower, so it could relay messages […]
Maltese Fortifications – Mgarr ix-Xini Tower
MGARR IX-XINI TOWER is the largest of the coastal watchtowers that the Knights of Malta erected on the island of Gozo. It watches over the entrance to the bay of Mġarr ix-Xini. Mġarr ix-Xini Tower was completed by June 1661, to a plan by Mederico Blondel. It cost an estimated 857 scudi, which were financed by the Gozo University. The design […]
Maltese Fortifications – Lippija Tower
LIPPIJA TOWER also known as ĠNEJNA TOWER is a small watchtower overlooking Ġnejna Bay, limits of Mġarr, Malta. It was completed in 1637 as the first of the 10 Lascaris towers (9 are still intact and other one was destroyed ). LIPPIJA TOWER was built in 1637 on the edge of Wardija Ridge overlooking Ġnejna Bay on the north west coast of Malta. The tower has Għajn Tuffieħa and Nadur […]
Maltese Fortifications – Fort Leonardo – 22.04.2020
FORT LEONARDO also known as Fort San Leonardo or Fort San Anard, is a polygonal fort (no bastions) in Żabbar, Malta. It was built between 1872 and 1878 by the British between the villages of San Leonardo and Żonqor above the shore east of Grand Harbour as part of a program of improvements to Malta’s fortifications. The fort was to be called Fort […]
Maltese Fortifications – Gun Posts – 02.09.2019
After the early 20th century, few fortifications were built in Malta. However, new military installations such as airfields was built in World War I, when the seaplane base of RAF Kalafrana and the airfield at Marsa were built. More airfields were built in the interwar period and the Second World War, including RAF Hal Far, RAF Ta Kali, RAF Luqa, RAF Safi, RAF Krendi and Ta’ Lambert […]
Maltese Fortifications – Ras Hanzir Polverista – 24.08.2019
Although the Order of Saint John built extensive fortifications around most of the Grand Harbour area, Corradino was not fortified. A proposal to build a bastioned enceinte was made in the 1670s following the Cretan War between 1645 and 1669 but this was never built due to a lack of funds; the only military building […]
Maltese Fortifications – Joint Operation between AFM and Royal Navy with St. Mary’s Battery, Comino – 21.08.1997
ST. MARY’s BATTERY or Trunciera, as it’s known in Malta, is a semi-circular gun platform at the eastern end of the island. It was built by the Order of Saint John between 1715 and 1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands and to protect the channel between […]
