Past Watch Site

Since the sixteenth century, Fort St. Elmo has protected the peninsula of Valletta, capital of the island nation of Malta. In 1552, four Italian architects were commissioned to begin construction of the fort, and from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, a number of expansions and renovations were made—adding Italian, French, Spanish, and British influence to the original structure. The result is a 50,400-square-meter complex with intimidating defense walls, upper and lower parade grounds, arsenals, a chapel, a gate, and storage houses. Having endured many sieges, the fort is now part of a larger harbor fortification complex. Originally built to house 800 knights and soldiers, the fort currently houses a police academy. Fort St. Elmo is a monument to Maltese cultural, historical, and military engineering heritage.

A survey of the site in 2001 concluded that Fort St. Elmo was a "Risk Four" on a scale of one to five (five being the most at risk), due to deterioration and damage from lack of maintenance and security, natural aging, and exposure to the elements, as well as inappropriate renovations and use. Though some damage is severe, in much of the fort restoration and conservation are possible, but would require more funding than is currently available.

Last update: 2008