Fort St. Angelo ( mt, Forti Sant'Anġlu or ''Fortizza Sant'Anġlu'') is a bastioned
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
in
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 ...
,
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 ...
, located at the centre 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, a ...
. It was originally built in the medieval period as a
castle called the ''Castrum Maris'' ( en, Castle by the Sea; it, Castello al Mare). It was rebuilt by the
Order of Saint John
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 military order. It was headq ...
as a bastioned
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
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
Carlos de Grunenbergh, also known as Carlo Grunenberg (died 1696), was a Flemish architect and military engineer active in the late 17th century. He mainly designed fortifications in Sicily and Malta. He was also a member of the Order of Saint Joh ...
took place in the 1690s, giving the fort its current appearance.
The fort was garrisoned by the British from 1800 to 1979, at times being classified as a
stone frigate
A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land.
"Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...
known as HMS ''Egmont'' or later HMS ''St Angelo''. The fort suffered considerable damage during
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 ...
, but it was later restored. In 1998, the upper part of the fort was handed to the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
. Fort St. Angelo has been on Malta's tentative list of
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
s since 1998, as part of the ''Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta''.
History
Pre-history to antiquity
The site was occupied since pre-history and a prominent
place of worship in antiquity with the building of the temple of
Astarte
Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...
.
The date of its original construction is unknown. However, the prehistoric and classical remains on site, are indicative of a fortified place and a habitable zone. Large
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
blocks and an Egyptian pink
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
column at the top part of the fort still exists inside the
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
. The site was probably later developed by the Arabs 870 AD, but nothing is concrete.
Al-Himyarī mentions that the Arabs dismantled a ' (fortress), but there is no actual reference if this 'fortress' was in Birgu. A rock-cut church close to the area had already existed since Orthodox Christianity in Malta around 600 A.D. and was rebuilt with wood in around 800 A.D.
Middle Ages
Its probable start as a fortification is the high/late
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
period. In fact, in 1220
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
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 ' () 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 ' 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. A detailed inventory of weapons and supplies in the castle exists from the same year. From 1283 the Maltese islands were under
Aragonese rule (although the castle remained for some time in
Angevin
Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to:
*County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France
**Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou
**Counts and Dukes of Anjou
* House of Ingelger, a Frank ...
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
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
. In fact the Castellans did not have any jurisdiction outside the ditch of the fort.
By 1445 a Mariam
confraternity
A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most c ...
, one of the eldest in Maltese history, had its
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
located at the site. A middle-ages window was discovered during renovations. It is documented that this had been walled up soon after the arrival of the knights.
Knights' period
![St Anne Chapel at Fort St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/St_Anne_Chapel_at_Fort_St._Angelo_11.jpg)
When the
Order of Saint John
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 military order. It was headq ...
arrived in Malta in 1530, they chose to settle in
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 ...
, when it was observed the site of Fort St Angelo was partially abandoned and in ruins. After renovation it became the seat of the
Grand Master, which included the refurbishing of the Castellan's House and the
Chapel of St Anne. 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
Antonio Ferramolino was a 16th-century Italian architect and military engineer. He is also known as Sferrandino da Bergamo, and is called Hernan Molin in Spanish sources. He is mostly known for his work in Sicily, but he also designed fortificatio ...
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
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
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
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
on Mount Sciberras on the opposite side of the Grand Harbour, and the administrative centre for the knights moved there.
In 1644, Giovanni de’ Medici proposed that a new fort be constructed on Orsi Point (the site where
Fort Ricasoli
Fort Ricasoli ( mt, Forti Rikażli) is a bastioned fort in Kalkara, Malta, which was built by the Order of Saint John between 1670 and 1698. The fort occupies a promontory known as Gallows' Point and the north shore of Rinella Bay, commanding th ...
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 the 1690s the fort again underwent major repairs. Today's layout of the fort is attributed to these works which were designed by
Carlos de Grunenbergh
Carlos de Grunenbergh, also known as Carlo Grunenberg (died 1696), was a Flemish architect and military engineer active in the late 17th century. He mainly designed fortifications in Sicily and Malta. He was also a member of the Order of Saint Joh ...
, 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.
[ When the French arrived in 1798, the fort had become a powerful fortification housing 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 the headquarters of the French Army.
]
British period
With the coming of the British to Malta the fort retained its importance as a military installation, first in use by the Army as a Wireless Station. 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 commissioned as a stone frigate
A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land.
"Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...
, originally in 1912 as HMS ''Egmont'', when it became a base for the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
and 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.
During 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 ...
, the fort again withstood the siege with an armament of 3 Bofors gun
AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years.
History
Located i ...
s (manned by the Royal Marines and later by the Royal Malta Artillery
The Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) was a regular artillery unit of the British Army prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889.
Initially on the British Esta ...
). In total, the fort suffered 69 direct hits between 1940 and 1943. When the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
left Malta in 1979 the Fort was handed to the Maltese government and since then parts of the fort fell into a state of disrepair, mostly after a failed project to transform it into a hotel during the 1980s.
Recent history
On 5 December 1998, a treaty was signed between Malta and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di 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.
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
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...
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
Heritage Malta ( mt, Patrimonju Malta) is the Maltese national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. Created by the Cultural Heritage Act, enacted in 2002, the national agency replaced the former Museums Department.
Or ...
. and completed in September 2015. It frequently participates in hosting events of national importance including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015
The 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, also known as CHOGM 2015 was the 24th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Malta from 27 to 29 November. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena han ...
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
An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary buil ...
. The castle also included a chapel dedicated to St. Angelo, which was later rededicated to the Nativity of Our Lady.
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
Fra' Juan de Homedes y Coscón (c. 1477 – 6 September 1553) was a Spanish knight of Aragon who served as the 47th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, between 1536 and 1553.
Early life
Little is known about de Homedes' early life, except ...
. It was heavily altered since the 16th century, especially when it was converted into a gunpowder magazine
A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications requ ...
. Part of the bastion was destroyed 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 ...
, but the damage was repaired in the 1990s.
*Ferramolino's Cavalier – a high cavalier
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...
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
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
on the western side of the fort at the waterline. It was named after the Chevalier Francesco de Guiral, its commander during the Great Siege. The battery was altered in the 17th and 18th centuries, again by the British.
Most of the present configuration of the fort dates back to reconstruction in the 1690s. Among the features added by Grunenbergh 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.
Gallery
File:Malta StAngelo two.jpg, West face of the seaward bastion
File:Sudika Birgu San Angelo gate.jpg, Main Gate before renovation
File:Malta StAngelo three.jpg, Inscription over the gate
File:Fort St. Angelo interior 01.jpg, Private part of the fort dedicated to the SMOM
File:Malta StAngelo four.jpg, Chapel of the Nativity of Our Lady
Other buildings and art
Treasures of the Knights
References
External links
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
Video showing the development of Fort St. Angelo from a medieval castle to a gunpowder fortress
Video showing a 3D model of Fort St. Angelo
{{Authority control
Saint Angelo
Saint Angelo
Saint Angelo
World War II sites in Malta
Buildings and structures in Birgu
Buildings and structures of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Limestone buildings in Malta
Defunct prisons in Malta
Castles in Malta
Military installations closed in 1979
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
16th-century fortifications
17th-century fortifications
Sites managed by Heritage Malta