A gunpowder era fort built over a medieval castle, this is just one of the amazing facts about Fort St Angelo.
Maltese historians at Heritage Malta credit Fort St Angelo with being the fort with the most significant importance in Maltese history. This is mainly due to the role it played during the Great Siege of 1565, when it served as the stronghold of the Knights of St John against the invading Ottoman Empire.
The castle-upon-the-sea
But Fort St Angelo’s story starts much before the Knight’s arrival in Malta in 1530. The medieval castle Castrum Maris, which was converted into the fort we know today, was already erected by the 1240s, when it was first recorded. Sadly, little is known about Castrum Maris due to a lack of written information from that period and the huge transformation the castle underwent at the hands of the Knights and others.
Curiously, the surrounding city of Birgu gets its name from il-borgo del castello or the ‘town outside the castle’. However, evidence suggests that the Birgu peninsula has been occupied since prehistory, and a temple of Astarte suggests that it was colonised by the Phoenicians.
From castle to fort
To serve its purpose as a fort, the Knights made several modifications to the castle, introducing bastions to the Maltese Islands. In their attempt to transition the islands’ obsolete medieval defences into the gunpowder era, they left little evidence of their previous form. The process saw the outright destruction of the castle’s old ramparts and towers or their burial within the thick bastions we see today at St Angelo, Mdina and the Citadel.
The fort again underwent major repairs in the 1690s, and today's layout is attributed to the design of Carlos de Grunenbergh. Fort St Angelo was further modified and restored after being heavily bombarded during World War II, and it recently underwent further restoration to bring it back to its former glory.
A commanding location
The castle’s location on a peninsula in the middle of the Grand Harbour was the main reason why the Knights chose it as their centre of operations. Mdina, the old capital, was too far inland to serve the Knights and their ships. Ultimately, the fort’s strategic location proved crucial to the outcome of the siege.
Indeed, due to its position in the middle of the harbour, Fort St Angelo affords awesome views of the entire harbour. Across the water, the bastioned city of Valletta, the new capital, was built at the entrance of the Grand Harbour on the peninsula of Fort St Elmo right after the Great Siege.
Did you know...
Four Grandmasters were buried in Fort St Angelo
The Grandmasters Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (died 1534), Piero de Ponte (died 1535), Juan de Homedes y Coscon (died 1553) and Claude de la Sengle (died 1557) were all buried in the chapel at Fort St Angelo before their remains were transferred to the crypt of St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta in the late 16th century.
Fort St Angelo is still inhabited by the Order
In 1998, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta was again granted part of the fort. His Excellency Fra John Edward Critien is today the Knight Resident at Fort St Angelo in Birgu, and the Knights' red and white flag flies on Fort St Angelo.
St Angelo is reportedly haunted!
The fort is reportedly haunted by the Grey Lady, a mistress of the Castellan De Nava family who was mistakenly executed upon protesting her status compared to De Nava's wife; the guards were then also executed! The Castellan De Nava family for some time inhabited the Castrum Maris.
Planning a visit? Click here for visitor information. Alternatively, take a harbour cruise to enjoy the fort’s bastions up close and personal. In addition, take the mandatory photograph of St Angelo commanding the Grand Harbour from the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta.