Fort Leonardo ( mt, Il-Fortizza San Leonardu), also known as Fort San Leonardo or Fort San Anard, 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 ...

Żabbar Żabbar ( mt, Ħaż-Żabbar, ), also known as Città Hompesch, is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is the sixth largest city in the country, with a population of 15,404 as of March 2014. Originally a part of Żejtun, Żabbar was gr ...

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 ...

. It was built between 1872 and 1878 by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

between the villages of San Leonardo and Żonqor above the shore east of the

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks (Malta Dockyard), wharves, and ...

History

Fort Leonardo was built between 1872 and 1878 by the

, as part of a programme of improvements to Malta's fortifications recommended in Colonel Jervois' Report of 1866. The fort was to be called Fort Tombrell but the name was changed to Fort Leonardo when construction began. Its layout is complicated, with a smaller inner fort forming one corner within the larger part of the fort that contains the gun emplacements. The fort was initially armed with 11 inch rifled muzzle-loading guns, which were later superseded by 9.2 inch breech loading guns. In 1882,

Żonqor Battery Żonqor Battery ( mt, Batterija taż-Żonqor) is an artillery battery in Marsaskala, Malta, standing on high ground overlooking Marsaskala Bay. It is a polygonal fort and was built by the British Empire, British from 1882 to 1886. History Żonqor ...

was built about a kilometre away from Fort Leonardo. The battery was manned by the gun crew and garrison stationed in Fort Leonardo. Fort Leonardo was used for coastal defence in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On 17 May 1942, the fort helped repel an Italian

E-boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...

attack. The fort remained in use by the British military until the 1970s.

Present day

Fort Leonardo was rented to a cattle farmer in 1973 for an annual sum of €93, and was used as a farm until the early 2010s. The fort itself is still in reasonable repair, though a house has been built inside the ditch and the ditch in-filled to create an access. The seaward ditches are all in good repair. A modern construction, possibly a reservoir, alongside the shoreward side of the fort detracts from its original appearance, and the approach to the main gate has been mined for rubble and is substantially damaged. In 2011, a 60-metre high

communications tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

of the telecommunications company GO was approved to be built on the glacis of the fort. In 2014, it was proposed that the fort would be turned into a boutique hotel.

Din l-Art Ħelwa () is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous ...

said that the fort should be restored, but its military context should not be lost as was done with

Cambridge Battery Cambridge Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Cambridge) is a Victorian-era battery in Sliema, Malta. It is commonly referred to as Fort Cambridge ( mt, Forti Cambridge), although it was never classified as a fort while in use. It originally contained an ...

Tigné Point Tigné Point is a peninsula in Sliema, Malta. The area was originally occupied by several fortifications and a British barracks complex, which were left derelict for many years, until the area was redeveloped in the early 21st century. The area ...

. In 2015, the government made a proposal to include Fort Leonardo in the campus of the

American University of Malta The American University of Malta (AUM) is a private, American-style liberal arts college in Cospicua, Malta. It is a co-educational institution and its launch was announced in May 2015. The project was intended to regenerate the South of Malta a ...

, which was to open in 2016, on the condition that the fort was to be rehabilitated and opened to the public. This proposal was not implemented, as the campus was split up between Dock No. 1 in

Cospicua Cospicua ( mt, Bormla ), also known by its titles Città Cospicua or Civitas Cottonera, is a double-fortified harbour city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. Along with Birgu and Senglea, it is one of the Three Cities, located within the Grand ...

and Żonqor Point in

Marsaskala Marsaskala ( mt, Wied il-Għajn), also written as Marsascala and abbreviated as M'Skala, is a seaside town in the South Eastern Region of Malta which has grown around the small harbour at the head of Marsaskala Bay, a long, narrow inlet also know ...

. In May 2015, Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi proposed that the site should be opened for the public.

References

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

Military installations established in 1878 Żabbar

World War II sites in Malta Limestone buildings in Malta Military installations closed in the 1970s 19th-century fortifications {{Malta-geo-stub