Fort Binġemma (formerly written as Fort Bin Jema or Fort Bengemma, mt, Il-Fortizza ta' Binġemma) is a

polygonal fort A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerabl ...

in the limits of

Rabat, Malta Rabat ( mt, Ir-Rabat, ) is a town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,497 as of March 2014. It adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, and a north-western area formed part of the Roman city of Melite until its medieva ...

. It was built between 1875 and 1878 by the British as part of the

Victoria Lines The Victoria Lines, originally known as the North West Front, are a line of fortifications that spans 12 kilometres along the width of Malta, dividing the north of the island from the more heavily populated south. Location The Victoria Lines ru ...

. The fort has been illegally occupied by the Buttigieg family since 2009, who occasionally use it as a restaurant. It is set on a hill of around 180m (590 feet) above sea level. Before the building of the fort, there was a Roman village.

History

Fort Binġemma was built by the British as part of the

, a line of fortifications along the northern part of Malta, dividing it from the more heavily populated south. It is one of three forts built along the lines, the other two being

Fort Madalena Fort Madalena, also known as Fort Madliena ( mt, Il-Fortizza tal-Madliena), is a polygonal fort in Madliena, limits of Swieqi, Malta. It was built between 1878 and 1880 by the British as part of the Victoria Lines. The fort now falls under the res ...

and

Fort Mosta Fort Mosta (formerly written as Fort Musta, mt, Il-Fortizza tal-Mosta) is a polygonal fort in Mosta, Malta. It was built between 1878 and the 1880s by the British as part of the Victoria Lines. It is still in use today by the Armed Forces of Malt ...

. Fort Binġemma is located at the western extremity of the line, and it was first to be built, with construction taking place between 1875 and 1878. It has an irregular shape, and is protected by a cliff face to the north and a ditch to the south. It was armed with two 6-inch and one 9.2-inch breech-loading guns which had an arc of fire of 210 degrees, commanding the sea to the northwest and the ridges to the northeast. Although the Victoria Lines were abandoned in 1907, Fort Binġemma, along with

, remained in use for coastal defence. From 1949 to about 1952, the fort was used to train Albanian insurgents fighting the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

in the

Albanian Subversion Operation Valuable, also known as the Albanian subversion () or Secret Anglo-American invasion of communist Albania, was one of the earliest covert paramilitary operations in the Eastern Bloc. The main goal of the operation was to overthrow th ...

. It later became a communications centre for the 235 Signal Squadron.

Present day

In 1981, the

Government of Malta A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

leased the fort to Gaetano Buttigieg for use as a pig farm. The lease expired in 1997, but it continued to be renewed annually until 2009. After the expiry of the lease, Buttigieg and his family continued to occupy the fort illegally, despite the government having the right to evict them. In 2011, he refused to let government officials enter the fort, which was guarded by an iron gate and dogs. Illegal development took place within the fort in 2013. In 2015, it was revealed that the fort was occasionally being used as a restaurant, which is also illegal. It is also used for cows and animal farming.

References

Bingemma Batteries in Malta Rabat, Malta Bingemma Squats Restaurants in Malta Limestone buildings in Malta Military installations closed in the 1970s 19th-century fortifications Military installations established in 1878 {{Malta-geo-stub