The Fortress Builders – Fortifications Interpretation Centre (FIC) is an

interpretation centre An interpretation centre, interpretive centre, or visitor interpretive centre is an institution for dissemination of knowledge of natural or cultural heritage. Interpretation centres are a kind of new-style museum, often associated with visitor c ...

about the

fortifications of Malta The fortifications of Malta consist of a number of walled cities, citadels, forts, Watchtower, towers, Artillery battery, batteries, redoubts, Entrenchment (fortification), entrenchments and Pillbox (military), pillboxes. The fortifications we ...

. It is housed in a late 16th-century

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

located near the St. Andrew's Bastion in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. The centre was opened in 2013, and it aims at communicating Malta's military architecture in an interactive way. The building was formerly known as the Biagio Steps Examination Centre.

History

The idea to establish a museum about Malta's military architecture goes back to the 1960s, when British architect Quentin Hughes proposed to set up such a museum in

Fort San Lucian Fort San Lucian (), also known as Saint Lucian Tower () or Fort Rohan (), is a large bastioned watchtower and polygonal fort in Marsaxlokk, Malta. The original tower was built by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1610 and 1611 ...

. Military historian Stephen C. Spiteri also made plans to establish a military architecture museum, and he proposed setting it up at the Ospizio in

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

. In November 2008, the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs under Minister

George Pullicino George Pullicino (born May 12, 1964) is a former Maltese politician, who served as Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs in a number of Nationalist Governments (). Education He finished his education at the University of Malta as an architec ...

took the initiative of setting up the museum at the former Biagio Steps Examination Centre in

. The project was led by Spiteri. The Fortress Builders Eingang

Works to convert the former examination hall began in 2010 under the direction of the architect Norbert Gatt, and the completion date was set to be sometime in 2011. The project was originally expected to cost €436,000, but it eventually amounted to €1.7 million. 85% of the funds were provided by the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...

. The centre was opened by Prime Minister

Lawrence Gonzi Lawrence Gonzi (born 1 July 1953) is a Maltese politician, retired Nationalist politician and lawyer, who served for twenty-five years in various critical roles in Maltese politics. Gonzi was Prime Minister of Malta from 2004 to 2013, and lead ...

on 16 February 2013. It is run by the Restoration Directorate of the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs, and its curator is Stephen C. Spiteri. The conversion of the dilapidated warehouse into the centre won the

Din l-Art Ħelwa () is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous ...

Silver Medal Award in 2012, and the centre was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by

TripAdvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...

in 2015.

The building

The FIC is housed in a large 16th-century building located at St. Mark's Street in Valletta, close to St. Andrew's Bastion and the now-demolished Marsamxett Gate. It has a plain façade adorned with the coat of arms of Grand Master

Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle Fra' Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle (13 April 1531 – 4 May 1595) was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta, between 1582 and 1595. History He is mainly remembered for the reconstruction of the hunting lodge at Boschetto which was renamed ...

, suggesting that the building was built sometime between 1582 and 1595. The building's original purpose is not known, but it might have been a bombproof

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

. The upper floor was used as an artillery school (). The upper floor of the building was damaged by aerial bombardment in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and its roof was subsequently demolished. The rest of the structure was later used as an examination hall known as the ''Biagio Steps Examination Centre''. At some points it was also used as a rehearsal space. The building was chosen to house the FIC because of its large interior spaces and its location adjoining the

fortifications of Valletta The fortifications of Valletta () are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround Valletta, the capital city of Malta. The first fortification to be built was Fort Saint Elmo in 1552, but the fortifications of the city p ...

. Between 2010 and 2013, the building was restored and its upper floor was rebuilt, while an annexe was constructed. The new parts of the building were built in line with sustainable principles. It has been re constructed due to fails in the rocks.

Display and exhibits

The Fortifications Interpretation Centre contains exhibits relating to both military architecture in general as well as the various

, starting from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

walls at

Borġ in-Nadur Borġ in-Nadur is an archaeological site located in open fields overlooking St George's Bay, near Birżebbuġa, Malta. It is occupied by a Tarxien phase megalithic temple as well as the remains of a Bronze Age village which includes the earlie ...

to the pillboxes built by the British in

. Exhibits include a number of detailed

scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...

s, which are presented along with audio-visual presentations and informative charts. A few artifacts, such as a 17th-century

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

that was probably originally installed at Valletta's Porta Reale, are also displayed. The bridge is scheduled with a status of Class B. The only remain of the Castellu di la Chitati

The only remain of the Castellu di la Chitati

The centre also contains a lecture hall and a reference library, which are intended for researchers. Another section is dedicated to children. The centre occasionally houses art exhibitions. The centre is open everyday except for Sundays and public holidays. As from 2020, visiting costs €2 per person.

References

External links

Official website
{{Valletta Buildings and structures in Valletta 16th-century fortifications Visitor centers Museums in Malta Museums established in 2013 2013 establishments in Malta Commercial buildings in Malta Defunct schools in Malta Limestone buildings in Malta

History

The building

Display and exhibits

See also

Further reading

References

External links