A_ERDF 039 Book PDF copy

Valletta

St. James Counterguard
after restoration.

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

SS. Peter and Paul
Counterguard

SS. Peter and Paul Counterguard is a large two-tiered
artillery platform, one of the four counterguards designed
by the Italian military engineer Giovanni de Medici in
1640, in order to provide added protection to Valletta’s
land front. This counterguard was built in the form of a
stepped structure, owing to the inclined nature of the
terrain. Structurally, the counterguard is a solid massif
with few internal covered spaces, the main elements of
which are vaulted communication passages which link
together the tiered artillery platforms, a 19th-century
gunpwder magazine and a WWII concrete post. It is also
linked to a sally-port in the face of SS. Peter and Paul
Bastion directly by means of an arched bridge while a
ramp, cut through the gorge of the counterscarp around
1735, leads down into the main ditch.

Echaugette on salient of SS. Peter and
Paul Counterguard during restoration.

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Valletta

ERDF project survey drawings showing plan and
elevations with deterioration mapping of the rampart
walls of SS. Peter and Paul Counterguard, with its
echaugette, prior to restoration (VLT 15).

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

View of the salient
beneath the echaugette
on SS. Peter and Paul
Counterguard during
restoration.

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Valletta

Various views of the
salient, faces, gorge and
echaugette of SS. Peter
and Paul Counterguard
after restoration works.

View of the salient and
echaugette of SS. Peter
and Paul Counterguard
during restoration works.

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

Rock-hewn
Counterscarp

One of the most impressive elements of the land front
fortifications of Valletta is its deep rock-hewn ditch. This
formidable defensive feature, on average around 25 m
deep, was all carved out of the bedrock. It was one of the
first features of the fortified city to take shape and also
served as a quarry providing most of the stone required
for the building of the ramparts and the houses and
palaces of Valletta. In 1649, four counterguards designed
by the Italian military engineer Giovanni de Medici in
1640 were built on top of the counterscarp in order to
provide added protection to the Valletta land front. Around
1735, two pairs of ramps were cut through face of the
counterscarp in order to link these counterguards directly
to the ditch. These galleries were used as civilian shelters
during World War Two. The rock-hewn walls of the
counterscarp were also excavated to provide numerous
bomb-proof air-raid shelters for the protection of the
civilian population.
The ERDF 039 project sought to restore and consolidate
the consumed and fissured elements of the rock-hewn
counterscarp walls.

Detail of the rock-hewn counterscarp on
the gorge of St. Michael Counterguard
prior to restoration.

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Valletta

ERDF project survey drawings showing
elevations with deterioration mapping
of the rock-hewn counterscarp along
the gorge of the counterguards prior to
restoration (VLT 11 and VLT 12).

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

Various views of
the rock-hewn
counterscarp of the
Valletta main ditch
after completion of
restoration works,
right, near St. James
Counterguard and,
below, behind St.
John Counterguard.

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Valletta

View of the counterscarp and gorge
of St. James Counterguard, showing
the arched bridge linking the bastion
to its outerwork.

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

Porta Reale Curtain

Porta Reale Curtain is the central curtain on the Valletta
land front enceinte and originally held the main gateway
into the city. The curtain wall was largely rock-hewn with
only the upper elements and parapet constructed of
stone. A sally-port opens up into the ditch near the flank of
St. John Bastion. A railway tunnel was cut into the foot of
the curtain during the late 19th century. The curtain also
bears two concrete bunkers dating from the Second World
War mounted on the superior slope of the wide parapet.
The ERDF 039 sought to restore the masonry and
rocky fabric of the curtain whilst other public projects,
undertaken in parallel, have focused on erecting a new
modern entrance into the city following the design created
by the renowned international architect Renzo Piano.

Restoration works on Porta Reale Curtain.

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View of Porta Reale Curtain Valletta
from the flank of St. John
bastion, showing the new city 167
entrance.
ERDF project survey drawings showing plan and
elevations with deterioration mapping of the rampart
walls and superior slope of the parapet of Porta
Reale Curtain prior to restoration (VLT 09).

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Birgu
CittàVittoriosa
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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

Birgu - Vittoriosa Historical Significance

Birgu is both the oldest settlement within the Grand Birgu is a name derived from the Arab word borg, meaning
Harbour area and Malta’s first bastioned maritime fortress. castle, and originally referred to the suburb of fishermen’s
Consequently, Birgu constitutes one of the most important houses that had grown up on the landward side of the
fortified locations in Malta and its ramparts, built over the castrum maris, an old medieval harbour fort which the
course of various centuries, represent one of the most Order of St. John took over upon its arrival in Malta in 1530.
important works of military architecture to be found on the In effect, Birgu was Malta’s first maritime settlement and
island. also the first bastioned maritime city to be developed in
the Grand Harbour following the arrival of the Hospitaller
Today, Birgu is also one of the most popular tourist Knights in 1530.
destinations in the south of Malta, largely because of its
direct historical connections to the Knights of St. John and With the arrival of the Knights, the town quickly assumed
the Great Siege of 1565. Its other name, Città Vittoriosa the prerogatives of a new municipality distinct from that
(meaning ‘the victorious city’), as a matter of fact, was of Malta’s ancient capital at Mdina. The Order eventually
bestowed on the city to commemorate the Knights’ victory set up a commission to oversee the administration of the
over the Ottoman invaders in 1565 and to acknowledge town and its transformation into a new fortified city or Città
Birgu’s important role in repulsing the onslaught. Nuova as it came to be known. Giacomo Bosio, the Order’s
historian, writes that Grand Master L’Isle Adam ordered that
The ERDF project, as a result, sought to restore and the town of Birgu be enclosed within a wall but it is not clear
rehabilitate Birgu’s fortifications and revest them with the exactly when and by whom these fortifications were first
dignity that this unique historical fortress rightfully deserves designed.
in order to allow this historical maritime fortress the ability
to function as one of the island’s prime cultural and tourism By 1536, the Italian military engineer Antonio Ferramolino
assets. The projected interventions were aimed both at was advising the Order on both the fortifications of Birgu
restoring the ramparts’ consumed physical fabric as well and the adjoining sea-castle. Works on Birgu’s fortifications
as recuperating the overall legibility of Birgu’s fortified are recorded still underway in 1552, 1553, 1555, and
enceinte, obscured and devalued over the years by modern 1560. By this point in time, however, the land front had
accretions and unsympathetic development. clearly evolved into a straight line cutting across the neck
The project also strove to recuperate many hitherto of the Birgu peninsula. The city’s crowning moments came
inaccessible areas along the fortified enceinte in an attempt in 1565 when it withstood a mighty Ottoman onslaught,
to open up these intramural spaces for public enjoyment. earning its title of Vittoriosa. The city’s defences, which had
been nearly raised to the ground by a three-month long and
unrelenting artillery bombardment, had to be largely rebuilt
in the decades after the siege.

The construction of Valletta and the establishment of a
new city within its walls, however, relegated Birgu to a
secondary role and its upkeep soon came to be viewed
upon as a strain on the Order’s limited resources. Neglect

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Birgu

Eighteenth-century plan of Birgu’s
bastioned land front fortifications
with new works as proposed by the
Order’s French military engineers.
(Image source: National Library of
Malta).

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

Project proposal for the re-design of eventually crept in and the situation deteriorated further Nature and Scope of Restoration Works
the areas around the Couvre Porte once Birgu was enclosed within a massive outer ring of
Counterguard. ramparts begun in 1638 (known as the Sta. Margherita or The ERDF restoration project on the Birgu fortifications
Firenzuola Lines), followed by the even larger enclosure involved six major objectives, namely:
begun in 1670 by Grand Master Cotoner, both of which
served to relieve the front line pressures off the old city. • the restoration and repair of the ramparts’ consumed
masonry fabric
It was not until well into the second decade of the 1700s
that the Knights were able to devote some of their attention • the recuperation of the enceinte’s legibility
to upgrading the fortifications of Birgu. The present fortified with the removal of modern accretions and the
enceinte, as a matter of fact, is largely the product of this reconstruction of missing lacunae
last phase in the city’s development. Although respecting
the foot print of much of the original layout, the present • the recuperation of inaccessible areas of the
fortifications and ramparts are in their greater part the result fortifications and their incorporation into the public
of this vast Baroque reconstruction carried out during the domain as part of Birgu’s tourism assets
1720s under the supervision of the Order’s resident French
military engineer, Charles François de Mondion. • the rehabilitation of the main ditch and its adaptation
into a recreational and cultural area
Basically, the fortress comprised a land front laid out
roughly in a straight line, stiffened by two bastions, each • the introduction of a new lighting system for the
with a cavalier, all protected by a rock-cut ditch, the eastern fortifications, and
extremity of which was reinforced by a hornwork with an
internal retrenchment (known as the Post of Castile), and • the repaving and relighting of the historical intra-
linked to a line of relatively low sea walls skirting the shore mural area, known historically as the collachio.
along Kalkara Creek to link up with the moat of Fort St.
Angelo. The ERDF 039 Birgu project was divided into fifteen
separate tasks (or phases) as indicated below:
A section of curtain wall and a small bastion on the western
extremity of the land front was unfortunately demolished BRG 01: Restoration of St. John Bastion and Gateways
in the early decades of the nineteenth century following BRG 02: Documentation (two-dimensional recording and
a devastating explosion of a large gunpowder magazine
housed within the casemated ramparts. mapping) of the Hornworks, Retrenchment, Ditch
and Gorge of Retrenchment of the Post of Castille,
In the eighteenth century, the land front was also fitted with BRG 03: Restoration of Couvre Port and Ditch
an extensive system of outer works in the form of a glacis, BRG 04: Restoration of St. John’s Cavalier and the Curtain
a covertway and a countermined glacis practically all of of France
which were swept away around the turn of the twentieth BRG 05: Demolition of the Oil Bunkering Services
century to make room for modern development. A few of (this part of the project was not eligible for EU funds)
these element, nevertheless, such as the unique system of BRG 06: Restoration of St. James Cavalier and Bastion
caponiers and sally-ports, were unearthed inside the main BRG 07: Restoration of the Counterscarp of the Ditch
ditch during the course of the ERDF restoration works. BRG 08: Restoration of the Hornworks of the Post of
Castile
BRG 09: Restoration of the Retrenchment of the Post of
Castile and the Ditch
BRG 10: Restoration of the Curtain Wall - Tenaille Trace
BRG 11: Services and Infrastructure prior to paving (not
eligible for EU funds)
BRG 12: Paving works of the Collachio area

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Birgu

Aerial view of the Couvre Porte
Counterguard and adjoining areas
prior to restoration.

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

BRG 13: Landscaping and rehabilitation of land Front Ditch bonding employed in the construction of the oil-depot’s
BRG 14: Signage and Metal Works roof. The ERDF project saw the dismantling of the depot,
BRG 15: Artificial lighting system of land front enceinte and which was carried out carefully by hand. The conversion of
intra mural spaces. the resultant open space will be carried out in 2016. The
project was responsible for uncovering the ditch around the
Birgu has a combined perimeter length of two kilometres Couvre Porte counterguard, which had been filled-in after
of ramparts and rock-hewn counterscarp, fashioned out the Second World War with debris cleared from damaged
of the beautiful honey-coloured, but nonetheless fragile, and bombed-out buildings.
Globigerina Limestone. Erosion, pollution, vegetation,
constant human use (and misuse), as well as insensitive A concern for the reintroduction of a proper legibility
modern accretions (metal pipes, fixtures and cables) had, saw considerable effort exerted to re-establish the linear
over the years, taken a heavy toll on the ramparts’ masonry continuity of the enceinte where this had been interrupted
fabric. by modern cuttings and openings. Amongst these was
the the construction of an arch on the face of St. John
The projected interventions were designed to clean and Bastion, which had been cut away in the early 1900s to
repair all the surfaces of the bastions, curtains, cavaliers, make room for a modern road into the town. An important
and gates making up the fortified enceinte and as well as to objective of the Birgu ERDF project was the recovery of
replace, where necessary, highly consumed elements. This considerable areas of the fortifications which were hitherto
was undertaken in order to arrest the widespread processes inaccessible to the public. Amongst these were St. James
of decay and deterioration that were heavily compromising Bastion and a large tract of ramparts known as the Post of
the architectural integrity and visual splendour of this unique Castile. Between them, these two areas comprised a large
historical monument. Over the course of the past century portion of Birgu’s fortifications. The project sought to restore
some important areas of Birgu’s fortifications lost their and rehabilitate these areas and open them up for public
legibility as a result of short-sighted utilitarian interventions. enjoyment.
Some areas, as a result, were either obstructed with
nondescript utilitarian buildings and structures, or simply The rehabilitation of the intra-mural area - the Collachio
demolished to make way for roads, all of which degraded
the fortifications’ powerful and suggestive architectural and The repaving of most of the Collachio, which in Hospitaller
sculptural qualities. This was most evident at the Hornworks times was an exclusive area reserved solely for the
of the Post of Castile. This important stretch of Birgu’s members of the Order and housed all major public
enceinte, facing Kalkara Creek, was the site of the most buildings, followed a design concept based on two main
important battles of the Great Siege of 1565, and is one of aspects. The first aspect centred around the need to
the most dramatic and powerful statements created by the combine memory with invention and innovation. This
bastioned defences erected by the Knights of the Order involved retaining and restoring the old surviving elements
of St. John in Malta. In this instance, however, most of the to allow these to become ‘a monument of time.’ Where
inherent visual power of these magnificent ramparts had the old elements were only a memory, however, the
been dissipated away by a poorly-sited naval oil-storage new additions become tomorrow’s memory resounding
depot erected early in the twentieth century, which was yesterday. Secondly, the paving was interpreted as the
crudely grafted onto the lower half of the ramparts. Indeed, street’s skin – an essential component of the urban fabric
considerable damage was inflicted upon the bastion’s which communicates the ‘spirit of the place’. The cross
fabric by the insertion of heavy steel beams and concrete

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

Restoration works in progress
on St. John Cavalier.

196

Birgu

ERDF project survey drawings
showing plan and elevations with
deterioration mapping of St. John
Cavalier prior to restoration (BRG 04).

St. John Cavalier
and Bastion during
and after restoration
works.

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

Restoration works in progress on the
Curtain of France and the flank of St.
John Bastion. Top left, The restoration
of St. James Cavalier, adjoining French
Curtain.

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Birgu

Restoration works in
progress on the Curtain
of France and the flank of
St. John Bastion.

ERDF project survey
drawings showing
plan and elevations
with deterioration
mapping of the
Curtain of France
prior to restoration
(BRG 04).

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ERDF 039 The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic Fortifications of Malta

View of the Curtain of
France after completion of
restoration works.

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