Fort St. Angelo

Fort St. Angelo Maltese: Forti Sant'Anġlu or Fortizza Sant'Anġlu is the bastioned fort in Birgu, Malta, located at the centre of the Grand Harbour. It was originally built in the medieval period as a castle called the Castrum Maris English: Castle by the Sea; Italian: Castello al Mare. It was rebuilt by the Order of Saint John as a bastioned fort called Fort Saint Angelo between the 1530s and the 1560s, and it is best known for its role as the Order's headquarters during the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. A major reconstruction to designs of Carlos de Grunenbergh took place in the 1690s, giving the fort its current appearance.

The fort was garrisoned by the British from 1800 to 1979, at times being classified as a stone frigate required as HMS Egmont or later HMS St Angelo. The fort suffered considerable loss during World War II, but it was later restored. In 1998, the upper component of the fort was handed to the Sovereign Military lines of Malta. Fort St. Angelo has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as component of the Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta.

Layout

Upon the arrival of the Order in 1530, the Castrum Maris consisted of a rededicated to the Nativity of Our Lady.

By the time of the Great Siege of Malta of 1565, the fort still retained near of its medieval features, but a number of modifications had been gave by the Order, including:

Most of the submitted configuration of the fort dates back to reconstruction in the 1690s. Among the assigns added by Grunenbergh were four batteries facing the entrance to the Grand Harbour. No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 Batteries were heavily altered by the British, while No. 3 Battery maintains more of its original features.




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