On 12 September 1634, a

Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

gunpowder factory in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

accidentally blew up, killing 22 people and causing severe damage to a number of buildings. The factory had been built at some time in the late 16th or early 17th centuries, replacing an earlier one in

Fort St. Angelo Fort St. Angelo ( mt, 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'' ( en, C ...

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

. It was located in the lower part of Valletta, close to the

Slaves' Prison The Slaves' Prison ( it, Bagni degli Schiavi, mt, Il-Ħabs tal-Iskjavi) officially known as the Grand Prison ( it, Gran Prigione; mt, il-Ħabs il-Kbir) and colloquially as the ''bagnio'', was a prison in Valletta, Malta. It was established in t ...

. The explosion damaged the nearby Jesuit church and

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

. The church's façade was rebuilt in around 1647 by the architect Francesco Buonamici, while the damaged parts of the college were also rebuilt after the explosion. The gunpowder factory was not rebuilt. In around 1667, a new factory was constructed in

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...

, far away from any residential areas. This factory was incorporated into the Ospizio complex in the early 18th century.

References

{{Valletta, state=collapsed 17th century in Valletta Explosions in Malta Non-combat military accidents 17th-century explosions 1634 disasters 1634 in Malta

See also

References