Fort Ricasoli : a historical survey, 1670-1798

Abstract

This dissertation examines a seventeenth century fort and the people involved in its construction, maintenance and defence, while the Hospitallers ruled over Malta. It does not cover the French take-over of Fort Ricasoli for reasons of space and time and also because this would have opened totally new fields of research. Had this been a literary essay, I would have called it "The Lonely Fort". This is because Fort Ricasoli has an out-of-the-way position in the harbour area and also because since 1964 when the British services handed the fort over to the government of Malta it had been neglected and allowed to fall into pieces. It was only in 1976 that new worlds were undertaken in the fort for its conversion into an industrial estate. One hopes that its foundations are not going to be irreparably destroyed. What made me choose this subject is that I was always fascinated by Malta's fortifications. Fort Ricasoli came to my mind partly because I have pleasant memories of camping holidays spent at Rinella and also because a study of Ricasoli complements the work of two other students who have produced studioes on Fort St Elmo and Manoel, both forts on the harbour area. The greatest problem I had to face was the scarcity though information in the manuscripts of the archives of the Order of St. John at the Royal Malta Library proved sufficient. The parts of the archives which have been mostly used are those concerning the decisions of the Council of State, and that which deals with the decisions and reports of the Congregation of Fortifications and War. The most important objects of the dissertation are the reasons for the construction of the fort especially the study of the site before the fort's construction; the actual situation of the islands during the period of its construction and a criticism of its design; the reports of the military engineers who carried out alterations on the fort; how the fort had to work in the case of invasion and to look into daily social life inside the fort. These ends are discussed in the five chapters in like manner.