Star fort in Valletta, Malta
Fort Saint Elmo
(
Maltese
:
Forti Sant'Iermu
) is a
star fort
in
Valletta
,
Malta
. It stands on the seaward shore of the
Sciberras Peninsula
that divides
Marsamxett Harbour
from
Grand Harbour
, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with
Fort Tigne
and
Fort Ricasoli
. It is best known for its role in the
Great Siege of Malta
in 1565.
History
[
edit
]
Background and construction
[
edit
]
Plan of Fort Saint Elmo.
By 1417, the local militia had already established a permanent watch post on the tip of the Sciberras Peninsula.
[1]
In 1488, the
Aragonese
built a watchtower on Saint Elmo Point, and it was dedicated to
Erasmus of Formia
, better known as Saint Elmo. In 1533, the
Order of Saint John
reinforced the tower due to its
strategic
location.
[2]
In 1551, an
Ottoman raid
occurred in which the Turkish fleet sailed into
Marsamxett Harbour
unopposed. Due to this, it was decided that a major expansion was necessary, and in 1552 the tower was demolished and a new
star fort
began to be built. It was designed by a Spanish Engineer named Pietro Pardo.
[3]
It had a cavalier, a covertway and a tenaille. A
ravelin
was hastily constructed months before the 1565 siege.
[4]
Great Siege of 1565
[
edit
]
In 1565, in the
Great Siege of Malta
, the
Ottomans
invaded Malta once again with much more force than in 1551. Fort Saint Elmo was the scene of some of the most intense fighting of this siege, and it held out for nearly a month, withstanding massive
bombardment
from Turkish
cannon
deployed on
Mount Sciberras
that overlooked the fort and from batteries on the north arm of Marsamextt Harbour, the present site of
Fort Tigne
. The initial garrison of the fort was around one hundred and fifty knights and six hundred soldiers, the majority of whom were
Spanish
, and sixty armed galley slaves. The garrison could be reinforced by boat from the forts across the
Grand Harbour
at
Birgu
and
Senglea
.
[4]
The Siege of Malta - Capture of Fort Saint Elmo
by
Matteo Perez d'Aleccio
During the bombardment of the fort, a cannon misfired and hit the top of its parapet, sending shards in all directions. Debris from the impact killed the gunner and mortally injured the
corsair
and Ottoman admiral
Dragut
, one of the most competent of the Ottoman commanders. The fort withstood the siege for 28 days, falling to the Turks on 23 June 1565. None of the defending knights survived, and only nine of the Maltese defenders survived by swimming across to
Fort St. Angelo
on the other side of the Grand Harbour after Fort St Elmo fell. The long siege bought much needed time for the preparation of the other two fortresses and the arrival of reinforcements from Spain.
[4]
Reconstruction and modifications
[
edit
]
After the siege, Grandmaster
Jean Parisot de Valette
decided to build a new city on the peninsula. Construction started in 1566, and
Francesco Laparelli
was sent by the Pope to design the fortifications. The ruined Fort Saint Elmo was rebuilt and integrated within the city walls.
The Carafa Enceinte. The towers on top of the bastions are concrete coastal defences built in World War II.
The fort was modified a number of times in the 17th century. The Vendome Bastion was built in 1614, and in 1687 the Carafa Enceinte was built on the foreshore surrounding the entire fort. In the late 17th century, the fort was directly linked to the cavalier and part of the ditch was filled in burying some of the original ramparts in the process.
[5]
In the 18th century, a new
polverista
was built in the Vendome Bastion,
[1]
and stores were built in the area between the main fort and the Carafa Enceinte. These are known as Pinto Stores and they and the surrounding area form what is known as Lower Saint Elmo.
[6]
18th century painting of the Hospitaller Governor of Fort St Elmo, with the fort itself and Valletta in the background
On 8 September 1775, Fort Saint Elmo was captured by 13 rebel priests along with
Saint James Cavalier
in what became known as the
Revolt of the Priests
. The Order's flag was lowered and a banner of Saint Paul was raised instead. The Order managed to recapture St Elmo so the rebels in control of St James surrendered as well. Eventually the rebels were tried and three were executed while the others were exiled or imprisoned. The heads of the three executed men were displayed on the corners of St James Cavalier but were removed soon after
Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc
was elected Grandmaster in November of the same year.
[7]
British rule
[
edit
]
The fort was once again modified in the early 19th century by the British, when a musketry parapet was built. In 1855, the polverista at Vendome Bastion was converted into an armoury, and some small arms from the
Palace Armoury
were transferred there. In the 1870s, more works were done on Abercrombie's Bastion. In 1917, the first heart operation to be performed on a soldier was done at St Elmo.
[8]
In the interwar period gun emplacements were built to house new twin 6-pounder QF guns.
[1]
The fort was the site of the first aerial bombardment of Malta on 11 June 1940. Among the people that were in the fort during the air raid was the military doctor
?ensu Tabone
, who later became President of Malta. He survived the attack, but six others were killed in the same air raid.
[9]
On 26 July 1941, the Italians
launched a seaborne attack on the Grand Harbour
with two
human torpedoes
, four
MAS boats
and six
MT boats
. The force was detected early on by a British radar facility, and the coastal artillery at Saint Elmo opened fire when the Italians approached to close range. Fifteen of the attackers were killed and 18 captured, and all the human torpedoes and MT boats, along with two of the MAS boats were lost. One of the MT boats hit
St. Elmo Bridge
, which linked the breakwater with the tip of the peninsula near the fort, and the bridge collapsed. The bridge was never restored, and it was only in 2012 that a new one was built in its place with a similar but different design.
[10]
Parts of the fort were severely damaged during the war and some scars of the bombing can still be seen to this day.
[11]
The
Royal Malta Artillery
left the fort on 26 March 1972, ending its long military history. Parts of the fort subsequently fell in disuse.
Present day
[
edit
]
In Guardia
parade at St Elmo
The
World Monuments Fund
placed the fort on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world because of its significant deterioration due to factors such as lack of maintenance and security, natural aging, and exposure to the elements. Since 2009 major restoration works began,
[12]
and as of 2014 the restoration of Upper Saint Elmo and the Carafa enceinte was nearly complete.
[13]
[14]
Restoration work was completed in 2015.
[15]
Lower Saint Elmo has been cleaned from the waste that accumulated over the years,
[16]
and the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation is making plans to begin restoration.
[17]
Interior of Fort Saint Elmo after restoration and inauguration as a museum
From 1975, part of the fort housed the
National War Museum
, which contained military equipment and other things related to World War I and II. A replica of the
George Cross
that was
awarded
to
Malta
by King
George VI
in April 1942, was also on display in this museum.
[18]
The museum closed in September 2014,
[19]
and reopened in May 2015 having a larger collection.
[20]
Since the mid-20th century, Fort Saint Elmo has also housed Malta's police academy. Other parts of the fort are used for
In Guardia
and
Alarme
military reenactments.
[21]
While the fort was being restored, some archaeological excavations were made and various elements of the original pre-1565 fort were uncovered. This was an important find because little of the original fort exists, mainly because Laparelli rebuilt it in 1566 and it underwent a lot of renovation between the 17th and 19th centuries.
[5]
In November 2015 the fort was used as a media centre for the
Valletta Summit on Migration
.
[22]
Foreign journalists stated that it was possibly "the most stunning venue which ever hosted an EU summit".
[23]
Layout
[
edit
]
Left Demi-Bastion of Fort St. Elmo, before restoration
Fort St. Elmo after restoration
The original
star fort
, sometimes known as Upper St. Elmo to distinguish it from the rest of the fort, consists of two demi-bastions, two flanks and two faces, a parade ground, barracks and a large
cavalier
. The fort included a
ravelin
in 1565, but this was demolished during the fort's reconstruction after the siege.
The Main Entrance of Fort St.Elmo is known as the "Victoria Gate" and it is located at the bottom right corner of the fort. A gate known as the
Porta del Soccorso
serves as the main entrance to Upper St. Elmo.
[24]
The 15th-century
Chapel of St Anne
is located within the fort's walls close to this gate,
[25]
and the 18th-century
Church of St Anne
is found within the parade ground.
[26]
After the
fortifications of Valletta
were built, Vendome Bastion was constructed in 1614 linking the
French Curtain
to Fort St. Elmo. The bastion contains an echaugette, and it was eventually converted into a magazine, and later an armoury. The bastion is now part of the
National War Museum
.
[27]
The Carafa Enceinte, which was built starting from 1687, encloses the original fort as well as Vendome Bastion. It consists of the following bastions and curtain walls:
- St. Gregory Bastion ? an asymmetrical bastion with a long left face. It was altered by the British to house
QF 6 pounder 10 cwt guns
.
[28]
- St. Gregory Curtain ? a curtain wall linking St. Gregory and Conception Bastions. It contains various British gun emplacements.
[29]
- Conception Bastion, also known as Ball's Bastion ? a small pentagonal bastion, containing a number of gun emplacements, magazines, and gun crew accommodation. Sir
Alexander Ball
was buried in the salient of the bastion.
[30]
- Sta. Scholastica Curtain ? curtain wall linking Conception and St. John Bastions. It contains a gun emplacement for a
RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gun
, as well as other British modifications.
[31]
- St. John Bastion, also known as Abercrombie's Bastion ? a large asymmetrical bastion at St. Elmo Point, the tip of the Sciberras Peninsula. The bastion contains several British gun emplacements and magazines. Sir
Ralph Abercromby
was buried on the bastion.
[32]
- St. Ubaldesca Curtain, also known as Abercrombie's Curtain ? a long curtain wall linking St. John and
St. Lazarus Bastions
. It contains a number of British gun emplacements.
[33]
Some barrack blocks are located in the area between Upper St. Elmo and the Carafa Enceinte.
In popular culture
[
edit
]
- In the historical fiction novel
The Religion
, author
Tim Willocks
gives a fictionalized account of the battle for the fort (during the 1565 Siege of Malta).
- Lower Saint Elmo was used as a film location for the
Turkish
jail in the 1978 film
Midnight Express
.
[34]
- The fort is mentioned in the 1980 thriller novel
Man on Fire
by
A. J. Quinnell
. The main character Creasy trained with the
AFM
inside the fort.
- Fort Saint Elmo was featured on Maltese stamps in 1980 and 2003, and on a UNESCO stamp in 1981.
- Popular Maltese folk band
Etnika
gave three concerts on 31 July, 1 and 2 August 2003 named Bumbum, that drew thousands of revellers to listen to modern Maltese folk music.
- In the popular real time strategy game released in 2005,
Age of Empires III
, the first level's task is to defend a fort on Malta against the
Ottomans
, which appears to be Fort St. Elmo.
- The first part of the music video of the 2008 song
Vodka
by the Gozitan singer
Morena
was filmed at Lower Saint Elmo (the same part of the fort that was used for
Midnight Express
).
- The fort plays a key role in the novel
Sword and Scimitar
by
Simon Scarrow
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Fort St. Elmo"
(PDF)
.
Heritage Malta
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 6 December 2013.
- ^
"Fort St. Elmo"
.
Visit Malta
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
"Dawra kulturali mal-Port il-Kbir"
(PDF)
(in Maltese). L-Orizzont. 4 August 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
Grima, Joseph F. (21 June 2020).
"The loss of Fort St Elmo, 1565"
.
Times of Malta
. Archived from
the original
on 4 October 2020.
- ^
a
b
Spiteri, Stephen C.
"In search of Fort St Elmo 1565"
.
Military Architecture
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
"Fort St. Elmo Project"
(PDF)
. Department of Information
. Retrieved
9 October
2014
.
- ^
Sciberras, Sandro.
"Maltese History - E. The Decline of the Order of St John In the 18th Century"
(PDF)
.
St Benedict College
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 6 October 2014
. Retrieved
30 September
2014
.
- ^
"First heart op on soldier was performed in Malta in WWI"
.
Times of Malta
. 6 January 2014
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
"Poignant ceremony recalls Malta's early war victims - Censu Tabone's close escape"
.
Times of Malta
. 11 June 2014
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
Vella, Annette (25 July 2012).
"Fort St Elmo is finally linked to the breakwater"
.
di-ve.com
. Archived from
the original
on 18 October 2018
. Retrieved
9 October
2014
.
- ^
"When war came to Malta and thousands became refugees"
. 11 June 2020.
- ^
Ameen, Juan (18 February 2009).
"Government unveils multi-million Fort St Elmo restoration job"
.
Times of Malta
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
Micallef, Keith (26 March 2014).
"Iconic fort is nearly back to former best"
.
Times of Malta
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
"Updated - Upper Fort St Elmo restoration nears completion"
.
Times of Malta
. 4 November 2014
. Retrieved
5 November
2014
.
- ^
"Fort comes back to life"
.
Times of Malta
. 9 May 2015. Archived from
the original
on 16 October 2020.
- ^
"Lower St Elmo to be cleaned"
.
Times of Malta
. 14 November 2014
. Retrieved
14 November
2014
.
- ^
"Request for proposals for restoration of lower Fort St Elmo published"
.
Times of Malta
. 28 October 2015
. Retrieved
29 October
2015
.
- ^
"National War Museum"
.
Heritage Malta
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
"New Military History Museum to open at Fort St Elmo"
.
Times of Malta
. 4 September 2013
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
"Fort St. Elmo Opening"
.
Valletta 2018
. Retrieved
8 June
2015
.
- ^
"In Guardia Parade"
.
Heritage Malta
. Archived from
the original
on 11 March 2014
. Retrieved
9 May
2015
.
- ^
Attard, Rachel (31 October 2015).
"8,000 people, many heads of state participating in Valletta Summit on Migration and CHOGM"
.
The Malta Independent
. Archived from
the original
on 15 November 2015
. Retrieved
12 November
2015
.
- ^
Grech, Herman (12 November 2015).
"Live commentary: Valletta summit sounds warning on Schengen, provides aid to Africa"
.
Times of Malta
. Retrieved
12 November
2015
.
- ^
"Porta del Soccorso ? Fort Ricasoli"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 16 October 2020.
- ^
"Chapel of St. Anne"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 27 August 2012.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 5 March 2020.
- ^
"Church of St. Anne"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 27 August 2012. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 22 June 2020.
- ^
"Vendome Bastion - Valletta"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
11 July
2015
.
- ^
"St Gregory Bastion - Valletta"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
11 July
2015
.
- ^
"St Gregory Curtain - Valletta"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
11 July
2015
.
- ^
"Conception Bastion - Valletta"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
11 July
2015
.
- ^
"Sta Scholastica Curtain - Valletta"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
11 July
2015
.
- ^
"St John Bastion Caraffa - Valletta"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
11 July
2015
.
- ^
"Sta Ubaldesca Curtain - Valletta"
(PDF)
.
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
. 28 June 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
11 July
2015
.
- ^
"Prison break at Fort St Elmo"
.
Times of Malta
. 2 August 2008
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
Notes
- ^
Modifications continued until the early twentieth century.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Ernle Bradford (1965). "chapter IV".
The Siege of Malta 1565
. Penguin 2003.
ISBN
0-14-101202-1
.
Originally a 1568 work by Francesco Balbi di Correggio, translated from old Italian to English.
- Hughes, Q.,
Fort
1982 (
Fortress Study Group
), (
10
), pp. 71?93
- Crowley, Roger,
Empires of the Sea
2008, Chapters 9?10
External links
[
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]
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