Fort St. Elmo : a powerful cultural centre in the Maltese capital and state : investigating the potential of this heritage asset

Abstract

Fort St Elmo forms part of the military architectural cultural heritage of the Maltese Islands. The fort's historical significance and the various historical episodes such as the Great Siege of 1565, the revolt of the Priests, and the Second World War make St Elmo a fundamental site for Maltese history and the development of Malta. The fort has within its footprint the War Museum and has also seen several cultural activities organised, apart from numerous films that were shot in the fort. The fort has also received attention from policy planning documents such as the Grand Harbour Local Plan and in 1997 a Development Brief was also formulated. Although several rehabilitation proposals have been formulated they have never been implemented. There are several reasons for this; the site itself has still a number of users which need to be relocated. The fort also has a large amount of bastions which constitute a financial challenge to conserve and consequently offer little space for reuse and financial gain. The site of St Elmo had been nominated in 2007 to the World Monument Watch List. A photographic survey was carried out and the results confirmed that the fort is in a dire state of conservation, at grave risk, with parts of the fort risking collapse. The study also revealed that parts of the fort have been left without any conservation intervention for the last twenty years. It was suggested that a an Urban Regeneration Company is established as a public-private partnership to coordinate the rehabilitation of the fort. The Company would also commision a Cultural Heritage Management Plan and other relevant studies to assist in the regeneration. Various proposals were put forward for St Elmo. These proposals included the setting up of a National Cartographic Museum, in the Upper part of the fort, which would be based on the maps from the Ganado collection which were recently acquired by Heritage Malta. Other proposals include the setting up of a Great Siege interactive centre, a cinema where a documentary on St Elmo's history is displayed. In the lower part an extension of the War Museum is suggested and also the setting up of an upmarket retail and entertainment centre in the Pinto Magazines. The possibility to acquire European Structural Funds has been studied as a great opportunity to kickstart the rehabilitation process. Considering the number of visitors that the War Museum has attracted one can assume that the fort with its full package is ready to become an important cultural centre for both locals and tourists.