Fort St Angelo : a study of the evolving nature and roles of a fortress in Hospitaller Malta

Abstract

The topic of this dissertation emerges primarily from my personal interest in fortifications. Seen primarily as purely military establishments, such defensive works, however, go well beyond this notion and this study has sought to investigate one such fortress in this manner. In particular, Hospitaller Malta saw an unprecedented investment in the construction of fortifications around the Maltese island, in a bid to make them ever more defendable against the Ottoman threat. This prodigious effort of the Order of St John to fortify its new base from its arrival on Malta in 1530 onwards, started from Fort St Angelo, the fortification on the promontory at the tip of the Birgu peninsula. This stronghold, which predates the arrival of the Knights by several centuries, was the only available fortification work in the Grand Harbour environs. Here the Order established its Convent, first in Birgu and later on in the sixteenth century, inside the newly built city of Valletta. Fort St Angelo, therefore, was not an original concept of the Order of St John, but the latter resorted to make the best of an obsolete medieval castle due to the various advantages the site posed as well as through various adaptations undertaken during the period under review. This study intends to portray the various characteristic faces of Fort St Angelo between 1530 and 1798, spanning from its dynamic strategic value to the evolution of its structure. It also delves into the different roles undertaken by the Fort, both military and non-military as this study intends to show both the uniqueness and the multi-functionality of the stronghold. Although much has been written about Fort St Angelo during the Hospitaller period, these various publications mostly tackle individual aspects of Fort St Angelo, be it its military architecture, its armament, its ancillary uses etc. Hence, this study aims to bring together these various aspects, combined with new information gathered in the course of the compilation of this dissertation, in order to provide a more holistic overview. Therefore, Fort St Angelo poses as a unique example in Malta on how a medieval sea-castle was transformed, adapted and revitalised as a gunpowder fortification by the Order of St John. The Fort’s evolution throughout the period under review cemented its association with the Order of St John, so much so that it stands up till the present day as a symbol of this military religious Order.