Spinola Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Spinola), also known as Fort Spinola, was an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fa ...

St. Julian's Saint Julian's ( mt, San Ġiljan) is a town in the Central Region of Malta. As of 2020, its registered number of inhabitants stands at 13,792. It is situated along the coast, north of the country's capital, Valletta. It is known for tourism-or ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

between 1889 and 1894, and it was demolished to make way for hotels and a yacht marina.

History

Construction of Spinola Battery began in 1889 and was completed in 1894, at a cost of around £5000. It was part of a new series of fortifications meant to house breech-loading (BL) guns. Spinola Battery was located behind the

Spinola Entrenchment Spinola is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agostino Spinola (d. 1537), Italian cardinal * Alberto Spinola (born 1943), Italian water polo player * Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases (1569–1630), Genoese banker a ...

, an 18th-century bastioned entrenchment wall stretching from St. Julian's Bay to St. George's Bay. It had a pentagonal shape, and was armed with four guns, including two 9.2-inch BL guns. Its armament was removed in 1907. The battery was converted and developed into a hospital, known as the ''Spinola Hospital'', during World War I. It served as a hospital from 16 November 1915 till 27 April 1917. It was designed to serve for roughly 1000 patients, but during the war it had served for a maximum of 1168. The battery saw use again in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, when it was armed with 4.5-inch anti-aircraft guns. It was severely damaged by aerial bombardment. In 1969, it was used as a film sound studio, known as Intermed, later, as Brittania Studios. The studio was exactly situated behind the Millenium Chapel, now, a supermarket. Some of the films that made use of this sound stage were: Orca the killer whale, Zeppelin, Murpheys War, The Mcintosh man, Pulp, Raise the Titanic. Actors: Michael Cane, Mickey Roony, Charlotte Ramplin, Paul Newman, Peter O'Toole. The Hilton Malta Hotel was built in 1967 on the site of the battery. The hotel and any remains of the battery were later completely demolished to make way for the

Portomaso Marina The Portomaso Business Tower (often referred to by locals as simply "Portomaso") is a high-rise office building in Malta. The tower stands in the Portomaso section of St. Julian's, a town just north of Malta's capital city, Valletta. Opened in 200 ...

and a new Hilton hotel.

References

St. Julian's, Malta British fortifications in Malta Batteries in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1894 World War II sites in Malta Buildings and structures demolished in the 20th century Demolished buildings and structures in Malta Defunct hospitals in Malta 19th-century fortifications {{Malta-struct-stub

History

Further reading

See also

References