Saint Anthony's Battery () is an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

in Qala,

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It was built by the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

in 1731 and 1732 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands. It is one of only two surviving batteries on Gozo, the other one being

Qolla l-Bajda Battery Qolla l-Bajda Battery ( or ) is an artillery battery in Żebbuġ, Gozo, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1715 and 1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands. It retained its origin ...

Żebbuġ Żebbuġ ( ), also known by its title Città Rohan, is a city in the Western Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and its population is 11,074 as of June 2021. History and origins The parish church is dedicated to P ...

. The battery is also known as Qala Battery () or Qala Point Battery (), and is known locally as ''It-Trunċiera'' ().

History

Saint Anthony's Battery was built by the Order of Saint John on the easternmost point of Gozo, known as Ras il-Qala, and it was intended to guard the channel between Gozo and

Comino Comino () is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta (island), Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed, the island has a permanent population of only two residents a ...

. The battery was proposed in 1730, and construction commenced in 1731 and was largely complete by December 1732. The final finishing touches were made in 1734. The battery was named after Saint Anthony, as it was built during the reign of

António Manoel de Vilhena António Manoel de Vilhena (28 May 1663 – 10 December 1736) was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand ...

. It was possibly designed by the military engineer Charles François de Mondion. The battery was designed with a semi-circular gun platform and two blockhouses at the rear. However, the design was changed and it was built with a semi-hexagonal front. There is a free-standing

redan Redan (a French language, French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped Salients, re-entrants and pockets, salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other ...

that has thick walls and musketry loopholes to prevent a landward attack. These are shielded by two flanking traverses, and the land front is also surrounded by a shallow ditch. The gateway has the sculpted coat of arms of Grandmaster de Vilhena. The design of the battery is different from other batteries in the Maltese islands, making it unique. In 1770, the battery was armed with three 8-pounder guns with 427 rounds of roundshot and 75 rounds of grapeshot, and eight 6-pounder guns with 127 rounds of roundshot and 45 rounds of grapeshot.

Present day

The battery was in a dilapidated state for many years. One of the blockhouses had been demolished, and the gate had collapsed during a storm. In the 1990s the battery was at the centre of judicial controversy when Magistrate Carol Michael Peralta attempted to give the property to an unspecified third person that claimed to be the owner, potentially to then sell it to him. Since 2007, the battery is being restored by

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 ...

in conjunction with the Qala Local Council and the

Malta Environment and Planning Authority The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA, ) was the national agency responsible for the environment and planning in Malta. It was established to regulate the environment and planning on the Maltese islands of Malta, Gozo and other small ...

(MEPA). Some of the work was done by Leli Saliba, who was also responsible for the restoration of

Isopu Tower Sopu Tower (), also known as Isopu Tower, San Blas Tower or ''Torre Nuova'', is a small watchtower situated on the cliff between San Blas and Daħlet Qorrot in Nadur, Gozo, Malta. Isopu Tower was the last watchtower to be built in Malta, apart f ...

. The demolished blockhouse and gateway have both been rebuilt, and now restoration is now almost complete. The landscape around the battery has remained virtually unchanged since it was built.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands ''It-Trunċiera f’Ras il-Qala'' by Dr. Mario Saliba
{{Batteries in Malta Artillery battery fortifications in Malta Hospitaller fortifications in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1732 Qala, Malta Limestone buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 18th-century fortifications 18th Century military history of Malta